


When words won't do

by TeaWithTheHatter



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), But is Keith gay?, F/M, Hunay, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hunk if love, Hunk is perfection, I just had fun writing this, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Lance the florist, M/M, Pidge is a sass queen, Pining Lance (Voltron), Who hurt Keith?, klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2018-12-17 06:47:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 47,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11846166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeaWithTheHatter/pseuds/TeaWithTheHatter
Summary: A Klance Flower shop AU! Based off this prompt: Person A owns a flower shop and person B comes storming in one day, slaps 20 bucks on the counter and says "How do I passive-aggressively say f*** you in flower?"





	1. Once on a Tuesday

**Author's Note:**

> I started this on Fanfiction.net and now I've moved it onto this, will update on both though. I'm having a lot of fun writing this so I hope you enjoy it :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now with fan art!!!!!!!!  
> (I still can get over it!)

Tuesdays were a relatively boring day (though to be fair Wednesdays weren’t always that exciting either) the latter half of the week always consisted of customers rushing in to get arrangements for whatever was occurring that weekend, obviously the weekends were busy and Mondays were full of those poor bastards who forgot whatever it was they missed. So here it was, 2pm on a Tuesday and barely a handful of people had walked in.

Lance sighed; he put the flower crown of Gypsophilia he was working on down on the table and stretched, groaning at the satisfying popping that occurred in his stiff joints. He was bored out of his mind; maybe he should consider closing the shop one day a week? (You know aside from Sundays) He sighed again before leaning his head on his arms, slouching over the table. Lance swizzled his torso left and right on his wheeled chair, staring intently at the glass door of his flower shop willing for someone, anyone, to walk in.

He had been staring at the door for so long that his vision had begun to blur and yet not once had any of the passersby given his shop a second glance. He groaned before closing his eyes in an attempt to ease the stinging that had began to attack him; it had looked really nice outside, maybe if he had an extra day off he could walk around, enjoy the warm sun, maybe even walk through some of the nearby parks instead of spending his day catching up on all the house work and laundry that piled up every week. Lance began to drift off dreaming of summer days and no responsibilities.

Suddenly the bell above the shop door rang loudly and the door banged violently against the stopper as it was forcefully swung open. Lance’s eyes snapped open in surprise and he nearly fell out of his chair as the brooding figure made their way towards him before slamming a twenty down onto the table.

“How do I passive-aggressively say fuck you in flower?” The stranger growled.

Lance just stared at him, stunned. The sudden change in atmosphere had frazzled him so much it was all he could do. The man in front of him wasn’t overly tall but he was well built, clearly some sort of athlete or maybe just a regular gym goer. His hair was jet black and chin length, flicking out at the ends, it had an almost mullet like look to it. His brow was furrowed in anger but his eyes were a little softer, almost uncertain, and they were purple? No, that can’t be right; it must have been the light. He was wearing a red and white leather jacket (that only went down to his waist, like what?) over a black shirt, his arms were crossed and he looked tense. Lance shook his head slightly and smirked, finally snapping out of it.

“Well,” he said, standing up. “That depends on how dramatic you’re feeling”

The man pursed his lips as he considered it, “Fuck it, go all out.”

Lance smiled excitedly, holding up a finger to indicate that the man should wait a minute, before heading to the back of the store. Lance loved a challenge and while no flower outright says ‘fuck you’ he knew what he could use. He walked over to the pile of wilting flowers he was going to throw into the compost at the end of the day and began to rifle through; Tuesdays were a day of restocking and tidying up the displays (which he easily completed within the first hour of opening up) so he had a lovely ‘fresh’ stock of dying flowers to look through. Finding what he was looking for, he walked back into the main shop floor with an arm full of flowers.

He placed everything down onto the worked top before looking around for his angry costumer; he saw him regarding the white lilies with a soft expression on his face and promptly decided not to interrupt him. Lance smiled down at his floral collection and rubbed his hands together before getting to work.  
Most people don’t care about flower meanings anymore, they want certain flowers because they look pretty or they smell nice so Lance had a pretty huge variety of flowers at his disposal. Of course for his ‘fuck you’ bouquet he wasn’t going for pretty or nice smelling so he chose all the ones with the shittiest meanings.

He began by arranging the white candytufts with the yellow carnations to create the main body of the bouquet; carefully picking out the ugliest of the bunch to use. He took the prettier ones and cut the heads off completely before snipping along the stem and pulling the cuts down to create a pinecone effect. He could feel eyes on him while he worked and soon a shadow had fallen across his work station, Lance looked up and grinned broadly at the man in front of him, earning a stutter and slight blush.

Lance picked up the main body again before arranging the pinecone stems into it and surrounding it with tansies. He admired his handy work before wrapping it in brown paper and tying it with string. He had created a master piece of rejection and indifference and framed it all with hostility; the wilting flowers were beautifully discoloured and pathetic, it looked haunting, the type of arrangement Miss Havisham would have in her banquet hall. He laid his creation down, cut a piece of plastic sheeting and scattered a handful of petals from a purple hyacinth before ‘fish-bowling’ it around the stems, tying it with a black ribbon and pouring water into the arrangement. (Purple hyacinth stands for forgiveness and regret, things he was sure the man in front of him didn’t feel towards the intended recipient so it seemed fitting to drown them)

“There you go, the best fuck you bouquet I could muster” Lance smiled as he slipped a business card into the ribbon and handed the arrangement over to the man.

“It’s beautiful...in a weird way...Thanks” The man looked at his purchase with a stunned expression; Lance couldn’t help but laugh at the poor soul before he began to tidy up his station. He turned and saw the man had picked up the original twenty and was now thumbing through his wallet for more money.

“Oh, forget about paying” Lance said waving his hand, “It’s on the house”

“What? Really?” The man paused, looking shocked.

“Yes really!” Lance grinned broadly, earning another blush “Consider it as a thank you for making the day 100x more entertaining”

“Thank you so much” The man said picking up the bouquet and turning to walk towards the door. Just as he opened it Lance spoke.

“Hey, make sure you come back to me if you need anyone else to know they need to get fucked” Lance teased, putting his hands in the pockets of his green apron.  
The man grinned, “Oh I will” and with that he left.

Lance was left staring after him, a fond smile on his lips. He chuckled at whoever was about to receive that wonderful gift and wondered if he would ever get to see that stranger again.

Shit! He should have asked him for his name!

* * *

 

 **A/N:** OMG guys my fic has fan art now! I've never felt more honoured I'm gushing over it so much!

This beauty was drawn by [adverbialstarlight](http://archiveofourown.org/users/adverbialstarlight/pseuds/adverbialstarlight) and I just had to show off their work!


	2. Tale of a Banshee

The morning air was brisk and dewy, Lance pulled his jacket tighter around himself and practically ran down the street to get to the shop and warm up. Regardless of how long he’d been doing this he still wasn’t use to the early starts, he fumbled sleepily with the lock of the grates that protected the front of the store before unlocking the door and walking into the shop. He shivered at the change in temperature; he flicked on the lights then made his way to the back of the shop where he swapped his jacket for his green work apron. 

He checked his watch, it was 8:05, he had little less than an hour before the shop opened, Lance yawned loudly before going about setting up the shop. He went around ensuring all the flowers had sufficient water in them, he then set up the displays outside the shop and pulled down the blinds; he was just filling up the till when the bell rang signalling someone had entered.

He looked up to see Hunk close the door and flip the sign to open, Lance checked his watch again; 9:00, on time as always. He grinned as the larger man made his way across the shop to him, smiling brightly (mornings were always so kind to him) and carrying a brown paper bag in his hand.

“Hunk! Buddy! What have you got for me today?” Lance said cheerfully, closing the till and turning to face him.

“Something special.” Hunk winked placing the bag down and headed towards the back of the shop to get ready.

Lance grabbed the bag excitedly and opened it, pulling out a travel mug full of Hunk’s special brew coffee. He took a big swig of the warming liquid, burning his tongue a little in the process, and sighed happily.

“Sweet mercy how I’ve missed you so” He hummed lovingly, before turning his attention back to the bag. 

He pulled out a small tub and opened it; inside was a puff pastry lightly dusted with powdered sugar, he took it out (It was still warm!) and took a bite. He nearly moaned at the delicious flavour that exploded in his mouth; beautifully cooked pieces of apple infused with cinnamon and other spices in a sweet sticky syrup made from its own juices had greeted him and it was everything he had ever wanted. Hunk walked back into the main room and laughed when he saw Lance's face frozen in awe, Lance began eating it enthusiastically, spluttering something incoherent in between bites.

“Dude calm down” Hunk said laughing again “And don’t speak with your mouth full”

Lance swallowed the last of it and grinned. “Hunk, will you marry me?”

“Sorry babe, I’m taken” Hunk chuckled, showing off the gold band on his left hand.

“Damn I wasn’t fast enough; do you think Shay would mind sharing?” Lance asked.

“You could ask her” Hunk said as he walked over to the flowers and began picking some out for a bouquet that was ordered to be collected later today. “But do you think you could handle sharing me with a baby too?”

Lance choked on his coffee “Are you serious?!” he asked excitedly.

“mm-hmm” Hunk nodded turning toward Lance with a giant grin and an arm full of flowers. “Due in January”

Lance waited for Hunk to put the flowers down onto his work station before he embraced his friend. “Congrats man, they’re gonna be the cutest winter baby to ever exist!”

“Thanks buddy” Hunk squeezed Lance tightly before letting him go and turned to work on his arrangement. “So, how was work yesterday?”

“I’m seriously considering only opening 5 days a week” Lance sighed looking through the order list he had printed out.

“That bad huh?” Hunk said as he snipped the end of a flower stalk.

“It was so boring, expect when-“At that moment the door slammed violently open, the bell rang incessantly, and a banshee of a woman burst in and ran towards Lance, slamming a bouquet down onto his station.

“How dare you!” She shrieked “How dare you make this! Fuck you!” She screamed as she stalked back out the shop.

“Holy shit” Lance mumbled, staring shell shocked at the door. There was a beat of silence before Hunk spoke up.

“So boring eh?” He looked incredulously at Lance and crossed his arms, waiting for an explanation.

Lance shook his head and looked down at what the whirlwind had slammed in front of him; he instantly recognised it. He gingerly picked up the mess of carnations, candytuft and tansies before he turned and handed it to Hunk, Hunk hesitated before taking it but decided to inspect it while he waited for Lance to collect himself. Lance sighed and began to tell the story about how he was commissioned to make a ‘Fuck you’ bouquet.

“So clearly she was the intended recipient” Lance said rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly while Hunk nodded in understanding.

“I wonder how she knew you made it” Hunk questioned staring intently at the arrangement. Lance noticed his business card was still tucked into the black ribbon, he reached out and inspected it; it looked like it had been stabbed repeatedly.

“I’m gonna take a wild guess and say this was her clue” Lance handed the card over and Hunk chuckled.

“Yeah that would do it” Hunk turned and put the bouquet in a spare water pot “It’s really quite beautiful, how much did you get for it?”

Lance blushed and looked away awkwardly, “It was, er, on the house” Hunk laughed loudly.

“Let me guess, it was cute girl that asked for it” Hunk smirked putting his hands on his hips.

“No!” Lance said a bit too loudly, looking flustered. Hunk arched an eyebrow. “It was a cute guy” He mumbled, blushing when he realised he said it out loud.

“Typical Lance” Hunk chuckled, shaking his head. Lance huffed and went about making himself look busy.

The rest of the day went without a hitch, no more screaming banshees, no more mystery men, just regular normal customers. Every time Hunk tried to breach the subject of freebee bouquets, Lance would just walk away and pretend to be busy or turn the subject onto Hunks long awaited new arrival.

It was five minutes before closing when they heard a knock at the door, they lock the door 10 minutes before 5pm to stop any last minute customers from coming it, but Lance recognised who was on the other side requesting entry. He smiled as he turned the lock and opened the door; he stepped aside and let the person in.

“Well if it isn’t angry mullet, need any more fuck you bouquets?” Lance teased as he closed the door, Hunks head shot up at Lance’s remark and he smirked knowingly. Lance did his best to ignore him and turned to face the newcomer who was glaring at him.

“Do you always insult your customers?” He asked, annoyed. Lance laughed at him and smiled brightly.

“Well to be fair you never mentioned your name.”

“Yeah well neither did you but I didn’t call you lanky florist” The man said crossing his arms, Lance spluttered unable to respond. They both turned when they heard laughter coming from next to them, Hunk had made his way across the room and was now standing close to them.

“Ignore him, he’s a bit of an idiot” Hunk said with an eye roll and he held out his hand. “I’m Hunk”

“Keith” Keith said taking Hunks hand and giving it a firm shake, he then turned to Lance expectantly.

“The name’s Lance” He said snapping out of it and giving Keith his best smile. “How can we help?”

“Well, I actually wanted to come by and thank you for yesterday.” Keith began, rubbing his arm nervously while his eyes scanned the room. “I felt bad for taking the bouquet for free and-“ 

He stopped speaking suddenly and froze, his eyes had widened in shock as he stared at something on the other side of the room. Hunk and Lance shared a confused and concerned look before turning back to Keith in the hopes he’d continue.

“She came here didn’t she” Keith whispered slowly, Lance followed his gaze and notice he was staring at the wilting bouquet they had put in a pot and forgotten about.

“The banshee? Yeah she came in this morning, flipped me off and slammed the bouquet in front of me” Lance said happily while Hunk chuckled. “Clearly I had done a good job”  
“Oh God I’m so sorry” Keith looked mortified which amused Lance greatly. “What can I do to make it up to you? I could-“

“Bip bip bip bip bip” Lance said waving his hand to stop Keith from talking. “Chill dude no harm no foul, you don’t need to make it up to me”

“Can I at least take you out to get coffee? As a thank you and as an apology now I guess” Keith looked back at the bouquet with troubled eyes. Lance pursed his lips, considering the offer.

“Okay deal, throw in a cake too cos I’m starved” Lance said cheekily, earning an eye roll from Hunk.

“Of course” Keith said eagerly, he looked so relieved that Lance had accepted his offer that it caused Lance to laugh.

“Hunk, are you okay to close up by yourself tonight?” Lance said turning to face his friend while he undid his apron.

“Yeah course I am” Hunk said breezily. Lance grinned and ran to the back room to dump his apron and grab his jacket. When he came back through Hunk was holding the door open for them.

“Thanks man” Lance said giving Hunk a high five.

“No problem, have fun on your date” Hunk smirked. Lance spluttered and quickly pushed a blushing Keith out of the door and away from Hunks booming laughter.


	3. Tell me your tale of woe

Lance honestly thought Keith would just take him to the nearest Starbucks, buy him a coffee, apologise and then they’d go their separate ways, so he was surprised when they walked past yet another shop without hesitation. Where was Keith taking him? Did he even remember Lance was with him? Lance glanced down at Keith, he was muttering angrily with a death stare capable of destroying a thousand moons, but he seemed like he knew where he was going; Lance shrugged, put his hands in his pockets and continued following.

They walked all the way to the other side of town and headed down streets Lance had never been down before, he was just about to ask where they were when Keith stopped in front of a heavy wooden door. Lance looked around and couldn’t see any sign that hinted to what was behind that door, how did Keith know this was a coffee shop? Was it even a coffee shop? *Gasp* was it a secret fight club?! Lance had always wanted to be part of a fight club!

When Keith pushed the door open and revealed the interior Lance was only a tiny bit disappointed. It wasn’t a fight club, but it was a super cool coffee lounge. It had a distinct industrial chic style, with exposed brick walls and vintage copper wired light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. They walked down the few steps by the entrance and headed towards the counter; Lance was in awe and couldn’t help looking around. The main part of the lounge was open space with simple wooden tables and chairs placed in front of the barista counter that had dark wooden panelling. To the left, next to the door, there was a raised platform that had a few red chesterfield leather sofas and some coffee tables. The open space flowed into a large corridor that ran down the left hand side of the shop; a continuous sofa was fitted against the far left wall with evenly spaced tables and accompanying chairs. The end wall of the corridor had a floor to ceiling bookcase so full there were small piles of hard backs on the floor balanced against it, a few choice pieces of art work were hung on the walls and there were no windows. The dim lighting and soft jazz music that played made the entire place feel relaxed and secluded like stepping into a small quiet haven hidden in the midst of chaos, time could stop in here.

“-and add whatever he orders to my tab” Keith said to the barista.

Lance was so absorbed with his surroundings he hadn’t realised he was in front of the counter or that Keith had even ordered, he snapped out of it when he heard a throat being cleared, calling for his attention.

“Erm, I’ll have a large latte please” He said tearing his eyes away from the sofas and turning to face the barista. He glanced over the dessert display there was a beat of silence before he practically pressed himself against the glass hungrily “Oh and a slice of carrot cake too!”

“Sure thing” The barista chuckled.

“Thanks Bemmy!” Keith said with a wave leading Lance round and down the corridor to the furthest table.

Keith slid into the sofa side and Lance took the chair opposite, they sat in slightly awkward silence until their orders came. Keith stared troubled into his black coffee; Lance appraised him for a minute before stabbing his fork into his cake.

“You’re still troubled by the banshee aren’t you?” It wasn’t really a question more of a statement; Keith looked up at Lance and sighed.

“I still can’t believe she came to harass you” He growled “That bitch!” his voice was so full of venom it surprised Lance.

“Oh yeah definitely” Lance said hesitantly, taking a bite of his cake “So, erm, why is she a bitch?”

Keith sighed again but didn’t say anything; he simply looked back down at his coffee before taking a sip. Lance shrugged, not wanting to push; instead he busied himself by slowly picking out all of the raisins from his cake. The sound of metal scratching against porcelain caused Keith to look up and watch his companion quizzically.

  
“What are you doing?” Keith said chuckling at Lance’s look of concentration as he tore apart his cake.

“Fuck raisins” Lance mumbled “They’re the bane of my carrot cake loving life”

Keith laughed loudly, Lance looked up in shock, the sound was so light, so genuine, so _happy_. Keith lent back on his chair, mug in his hands, his laugh had died down into a chuckle and his features looked softer, more relaxed as if whatever was pressing down on his shoulders had eased up a little. Lance grinned broadly; silently vowing that he would do all he could to make Keith laugh again, anything at all to ease some of his burden.

“Do you like them?” Lance asked pointing at the culprits with his fork.

“Yeah I do, not as much as you hate them mind” Keith chuckled before taking a big drink of his coffee.

“Well, here, help yourself” Lance offered. Keith looked at him surprised but Lance just smiled and pushed his plate closer to the middle, Keith hesitated before reaching out and taking a cake covered fruit.

“Thanks” He said softly, popping the treat into his mouth. Lance nodded and took another fork full of his now decontaminated cake.

Silence fell over their table once more but this time it was companionable. Lance picked up his latte and looked over at the bookshelf scanning for any titles he might recognise, out of his peripheral he saw Keith put his mug down and take another raisin, Lance smiled into his drink pleased that Keith was starting to relax around him.

“She crossed a line” Keith whispered. Lance turned to face him with an eyebrow raised, but he didn’t say anything.

“She implied that my parents had abandoned me because I don’t like strawberry ice-cream” He rolled his eyes but there was a hint of sadness glowing in them “Both of my parents died when I was young, she knew this; it was her idea of a joke she didn’t understand why I was mad”

Lance looked disgusted. “What the fuck is wrong with some people?!” he practically shouted making Keith jump a little in his seat.

“Who says that to someone?! I hope you gave more than just the bouquet! Like, you must have handed it with an angry note or something!” Lance said pointing his fork at Keith accusingly, Keith shook his head.

“What?” Lance said dropping his fork. “You didn’t write a note? Did you shout at her?” He shook his head again.

“But she looked so pissed and she more than deserved it” Lance mused.

“Oh that’s because she’s a florist too, so she knew what all the flowers you chose meant” Keith said nonchalantly.

“Hahahaha what the hell?” Lance shook his head, amused. “If I had known that I would have done more! Maybe added a nest of thorns on top of it or poison ivy or something”

“That would have been good” Keith chuckled “She would have been fucked for days had she touched poison ivy”

They shared an amused look and instantly both broke out in laughter at the image. Lance’s laugh was almost hysterical as all of adrenaline from his anger was released while Keith felt so much relief after telling someone what happened he was nearly delirious. It took them several minutes before they calmed down enough to continue any sort of conversation.

“Well I have to admit, you’re a bigger man than I am Keith” Lance said finishing his drink “I would have done way more than a bouquet, probably cursed her to high hell”

  
Keith shrugged “I won’t ever speak to her again” he reached out for another raisin “I give people one chance and she blew hers”

Lances nodded in understanding “Her loss” He said with a smile, Keith smiled sheepishly back.

“Anyway fuck strawberry ice-cream it’s all about birthday cake” Lance teased with a wink.

“What are you a child?” Keith questioned, laughing. “It’s definitely all about vanilla”

“I am personally offended that you would mention such a boring flavour in my presence!” Lance exclaimed in mock hurt, dramatically clutching his chest. Keith just laughed.

Conversation flowed easily after that; they didn’t realise how late it had gotten until Bemmy came round tell them he had to close up. Keith went up to pay, practically running away from the money Lance had tried to offer him and they both exited their little haven and walked back into the real world.

The temperature had dropped drastically, Lance felt like his bones had frozen and had become brittle the minute the cold air hit him. He shivered violently and hugged himself in an attempt to keep warm; he looked over at Keith and was slightly annoyed that the man seemed unfazed.

“Where do you live?” Keith said looking up at Lance.

“Yo-you don’t ha-have t-to walk-k me ho-ome” Lance said failing to stop his teeth from clattering. Keith just rolled his eyes and waited for Lance to answer his question.

“It’s n-not far fr-from the sh-shop” Lance mumbled simply dying to get out of the cold.

Keith nodded and started walking; Lance hoped he was taking them down the shortest route. They walked a lot faster than they did on their way to the coffee shop, which was probably due to Lance, the minute he recognised where he was he started taking longer strides which left Keith half jogging in an attempt to keep up. They had barely spoken as they walked; Lance could scarcely say anything coherent through his chattering teeth and whenever he did Keith couldn’t stop laughing at him. When they get to the door of Lance’s apartment building he turned to face Keith.

“Th-thanks for th-the coff-ffee” Lance said while his cold fingers fumbled around in his pocket searching for his keys.

“No worries” Keith eyed the shivering mess in front of him and smirked “Wear a thicker coat next time”

“Heh, I will” He waved at Keith as he made his way down the street.

When he finally made it to his flat he collapsed of the sofa, his breathing began to steady and his jaw unclenched as he slowly warmed up. Lance smiled as he thought about his evening adventure with Keith and wondered where they would go next time. Suddenly he bolted upright at a horrid realisation.

God dammit! He forgot to get his number!


	4. At least the prince had a slipper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having a bit too much fun naming these chapters

Lance woke up the next day still mad at himself and he made sure his empty apartment knew all about it. He stomped in and out of the rooms, slammed whatever he was using, be it mug or toothbrush, down on hard surfaces and grumbled angrily to himself.

“Gah Lance you’re better than this!” He scowled at himself in the mirror “How could you forget!”

He was barely aware of his surroundings when he made his way to the shop and even less so when he was setting it up. Everything he did was aggressive and done with the most noise possible. He sat down to work on an arrangement and grabbed a large foam ball, he began to try and poke flowers into it but was so wound up he just ended up crushing the plants.

“For fucks sake!” Lance screamed in frustration, lobbing the ball across the room, towards the door. A large hand grabbed the ball in mid-air and Lance stared in shock.

“I know I’m a little late but I didn’t realise it warranted this sort of discipline” Hunk said, laughing. Lance slumped down onto his table, hiding his face in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry Hunk” Lance mumbled, he could hear Hunk make his way across the shop.“I didn’t even realise you weren’t here!”

“Nice to know I play a significant part in your life” Hunk called out from the back room.

“No I didn’t mean it like that!” Lance said hurriedly “I’ve just-sigh-I’ve got a lot on my mind”

“Date not go well?” Hunk asked half joking, but there was genuine concern in his eyes.

“No, it was good.” Lance said not rising to the bait “we went to a cool cafe on the other side of town, it’s like the room of requirements of coffee shops! It has everything you could need; I’ll take you there some time”

“Can’t wait” Hunk said gathering flowers “So what’s the problem?”

“I didn’t get his number!” Lance practically wailed. Hunk burst out laughing, nearly dropping the flowers as he clutched his sides.

“Is that it?” Hunk asked once he calmed down, Lance glared at him.

“What do you mean that’s it?! I’m the smoothest guy there is! How could I forget the basics?!”

“Wow okay, stop blowing your own trumpet for a second” Hunk said, wiping a tear from his eye. “Why don’t you just go back to the cafe after work and see if he’s there, then you can ask him for it”

“Yeah” Lance mused “Yeah okay, maybe I will”

Lance was impatient for the rest of the day waiting for that clock to release him from his duties. Of course he was still patient and oh so charming to his customers, especially the ladies, but the minute they were alone he would tap his foot or his pen or pace around the shop.

“Oh my God, Lance! Will you stop pacing before you bore a hole through the floor!” Hunk said exasperated. “You’re driving me insane!”

Lance stopped mid-stride and looked over at Hunk sheepishly. He quietly went back to his work station and slumped onto his chair.

“I’m sorry” He mumbled playing around with the scrap flowers scattered on the table.

“You have one hour left” Hunk sighed “Just keep it together for one more hour. Please.”

Lance nodded and tried to keep his eyes away from the clock. It was the longest hour of his life! He couldn’t remember the last time he had made this many bouquets in such a (If we’re being honest) short amount of time and they weren’t even for orders, he just needed to keep himself busy.

“Maybe you should be impatient more often” Hunk said as he grabbed yet another arrangement off Lance’s table and put it in one of the window displays. “This is the most productive I’ve ever seen you”

Lance looked up and glared at his friend, Hunk just smiled innocently. Lance dared a glance at the time and his breath caught in his throat. It was 5 o’clock. In an instant he became a whirl wind of a man; he flew around the entire store cleaning and organising, he all but pushed Hunk out of the door before he hastily locked up.

“Okay, bye, thanks, see yah Hunk, bye” Lance said quickly before running down the street like a man fleeing death. Hunk stared after him greatly amused. He shook his head, zipped up his jacket and headed towards his house.

“Lord, help that poor child” He muttered.

Keith hadn’t been there. Lance had burst through the door and looked around eagerly, only to be crushed at the distinct lack of raven coloured hair. Still slightly hopeful, he ordered a drink and sat down to wait; after two hours he sighed and walked out the shop. The next day played out exactly the same, though Lance had made a conscious effort to be less annoying as he waited the work day out. Saturday came and Lance was a deflated shell of a man. Hunk watched his friend worriedly, Lance was barely talking, his smiles towards customers were half hearted at best and he hadn’t even touched the food Hunk had brought in hoping to cheer him up. Hunk was at his wits end, not knowing how to help Lance, when a green blur ran through the shop and into the back room.

“I’m sorry I’m late!” It shouted. Hunk looked at the clock, it was quarter past twelve, he chuckled before looking over at Lance, he hadn’t moved or acknowledged the additional presence at all.

“Stay up all night on your computer again Pidge?” Hunk asked. Pidge came out of the back room looking sheepish; her short red hair dishevelled and her tired eyes framed by large glasses.

Lance, Hunk and Pidge had all gone to school together; Lance had basically forced her to be their friend and while she’d never admit it (Like hell was she going to add to his ego) she was really glad he did. They made sure she didn’t starve herself working and forced her to take breaks and sleep, it was annoying at the time but she realised she wouldn’t be completing her PhD in computer science at the tender age of 22 if they hadn’t forced her into good habits; her body would have given up on her long a go if it weren’t for them. When she started Uni Lance had offered her a weekend job at the shop, partly so she could earn money but mainly so it would force her away from her tech; she had initially refused, being a nature loather, but she found she actually had quite the knack for it.

“How’s school going Pidgey?” Hunk asked as she passed him to get some flowers. Pidge wasn’t her real name, it was a nickname Lance had come up with, he said she would always coo like a happy pigeon when she encountered new tech and, well, it stuck.

“It’s going really well, I’m going to be featured in an exhibit” She said proudly, adjusting her glasses.

“Heck yeah! You go girl!” Hunk hugged her tightly easily lifting her off the floor. She stumbled trying to get her balance after she was release, blushing slightly.

“Thanks!” She grinned. “What’s new with you?”

“Well, Shay and I are expecting”

“Hey congrats man!” Her face suddenly deadpanned and she pointed at him “Don’t ask me to babysit”

“Hahahaha don’t worry I won’t” Pidge grinned and turned to the man who had been oddly quiet,

“Hey Lance”

“Hey Pidge” Lance muttered, staring straight ahead and slumping down even further in his seat; Pidge’s brow furrowed in concern.

“Who broke him?” Pidge said accusingly, turning to Hunk.

“Keith.” Hunk sighed.

“Who’s Keith?” She asked confused.

“A stupid mullet head!” Lance shouted angrily, slamming his fists down on the table.

“What the fuck?” Pidge muttered.

“Pidge, language!” Hunk said disapproving, he couldn’t stop Lance swearing but he’ll be damned if Pidge followed in his footsteps.

“Alright spill, what’s going on?” Pidge said ignoring Hunk chastising and prodding him in the stomach. Hunk sighed and told her everything that had happened over the past few days.

“So yeah, Lance wants to see him again but has no way of finding him.” Hunk said crossing his arms and looking at Lances depressed figure slumping over the table.

“Aw it’s like a Cinderella story” Pidge said chuckling.

“Shut up Pidge” Lance grumbled, glaring at her. Pidge walked over to him and punched him in the arm.

“Just go again today” She said as if it was the most obvious solution.

“I can’t keep going every day, I’m pretty sure Bemmy already thinks I’m a weirdo.” Lance said rubbing the arm she had punched.

“Yeah but it’s a Saturday, so the probability of him being there is greater” Pidge said confidently.

“Can’t argue with maths” Hunk chimed in.

Lance sighed and straighten up “Alright fine, I’ll go one last time and if he’s not there be prepared to feed me all the junk food you can afford cos I’ll be crashing at yours”

“uuuurrrgghhhh fine, deal” She said, holding her hand out, he shook it and his mood improved for the rest of the day. 

That evening Pidge heard a quiet knocking on her door and her heart sunk. She tentatively opened it and saw Lance standing there looking disheartened.

“I hate you, give me ice-cream” Lance said cracking a small smile but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Shit” Pidge muttered stepping aside, “Yeah sure, come in.”

“I would be convinced he was a figment of my imagination if it weren’t for the fact that Hunk saw him too” Lance said flopping down of Pidge’s small green sofa. Pidge handed him a tub of ice-cream and a spoon and sat down on her beanbag. “Thanks”

“No problem” She said before picking up her phone.

_Pigeon feathers: Come here and help me right now. I don’t know what to do!_

_Hunk of love: I’ll be right there._


	5. Silent Orchestra

Despite his friends' protests, Lance decided he was done with Keith.

"I mean it's pretty obvious he's not interested anyway" Lance had said to them as they were all sat in Pidge's living room. "He knows where I work _and_ live but he hasn't come to find me"

"Maybe he's just really shy?" Hunk suggested hopefully.

"Yeah or like a weird loner" Pidge agreed, yelping when Hunk elbowed her. "What? He could be!"

Lance smiled sadly into the mug of tea Pidge had made him as he listened to his friends bicker. Maybe they were right, but it didn't really matter. Besides why was he hung up on someone he barely knew? What is Keith's favourite colour? What's his favourite animal? Where was he from? Where did he work? Lance didn't know a single answer to any of those questions, so why was he upset? What was so special about Keith?

Sure he was handsome, gorgeous even, with hardened purple eyes (It wasn't just the lighting and they weren't contacts either, Lance checked.) that gave nothing away and seemingly perfect porcelain skin. So what if he had a soft laugh that you could never tire of hearing? And yeah, he looked cute when he raised his eyebrow in confusion or when he smirked as he teased, but big deal! There were plenty of attractive people out there with the same qualities so Lance should just forget about him and wait for the next pretty face to catch his attention.

"Guys" Lance said softly, the other two stopped their yelling match and looked over at their friend, "I'm just gonna live my life as if I never met him, it's stupid to pine for him anyway"

Hunk was about to protest but Lance cut him off "If I see him again great! But I won't go out of my way to try and find him"

"He's the one that got away" Pidge swooned before falling backwards off her bean bag with a shriek as Lance propelled a cushion into her face.

Lance was true to his word and honestly, it wasn't that hard. He liked to think of himself as a smooth talker, one that could get himself out of any situation, so that's what he did; he smooth talked his brain into forgetting about Keith. Chastising it for any Keith related thoughts, convincing it against any urges to go scope out the coffee shop and purring all the compliments he could, after all:

"I'm a strong independent woman who don't need no man!" He blurted out one day as he was sweeping the shop floor.

"Hell yeah you are" Pidge said giving him a high five on her way to the back room.

The fact that the last few weeks at the shop had been really busy (even Pidge had been brought in for a few extra days to assist, after class of course) helped a lot. None of them had barely any time to think about anything other than flowers. _'Oh you need an apology bouquet? Don't worry, this one is guaranteed to get her to forgive you' 'Pidge you can't put white lilies in a love bouquet!' 'Why not?' 'They're for funerals!' 'You want some honeysuckle? Well honey, you can suckle my-' 'Lance!'_

The constant flow of new faces meant there was never a dull moment and one face piqued Lance's interest the most. A beautiful woman had come in looking to get a bouquet for her grandmother and he was at her side in an instant. She was tall with a body of an athlete, her skin was smooth and lightly tanned, her blonde dreadlocks were pulled into two high pigtails and she wore a blue sports bra with matching sweatpants. Nyma was her name and Lance made sure she didn't leave the shop without getting her number; he wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.

"Oh yeah! Who just got that girls number?" Lance smirked and finger gunned at Hunk "Lancey Lance did"

"Dear lord I hope that name doesn't stick" Pidge mumbled as she handed her customer their bouquet and waved as they left. Lance pouted at her and Hunk laughed before patting him on the back.

"She seemed nice" Hunk said.

"Nice? She was gorgeous, did you even see her?!" Lance said incredulously, Hunk just waggled his ring finger as a response.

"She was rather attractive" Pidge agreed, adjusting her glasses. "She's no high tech robot though, now they're beautiful"

"What even? I'm surrounded by a love blind man and a nerd who would probably do an AI" Pidge just shrugged and Hunk chuckled. "You guys are the worst"

"But you love us~" They sang at the same time.

"Jinx" Pidge said quickly grinning evilly at Hunk.

"God dammit" He muttered.

"Those words did not come out of my mouth so therefore they are not true" Lance said stubbornly "You both suck"

Nyma was 100% better than Keith; she was beautiful, funny, found him hilarious and she was incredibly smart. She was studying geography and history and knew something about everything, oh and she plays volleyball for her college team! How cool is that?

"Way cool man" Hunk said listening to Lance's love sick rambling.

He and Nyma had been talking every day; he had to restrain himself from constantly looking at his phone, especially when he was at work, to check if he had any new messages. All those questions he didn't know about Keith he definitely knew about Nyma. Her favourite colour was yellow, her favourite animal was a magpie because they steal treasure, she worked at the local cinema and she grew up in town though she's travelled a fair bit.

It had been a great three weeks, they met up for drinks several times, he took her to the lake to ride on a pedal-o one Sunday morning and now he had just asked her out for dinner. He was planning on taking her to his favourite Italian restaurant, he loved eating there and they made the best fondue (Yeah, yeah he knows it's not an Italian dish but he wasn't about complain) he made a reservation for 7:30 but they arranged to meet at the park an hour before for an evening stroll. Lance was excited and got to the park earlier than he had intended so he took his time wandering around and admiring the foliage before he headed to their meeting point where he sat on a nearby bench and waited. And waited.

His phone was void of messages and his calls went straight to voicemail, it wasn't until it was time to head off to the restaurant that he sent one last hopeful text.

_Lance: Nyma? Are you alright?_

_Nyma: Aw you're cute but..._

He sunk back into the bench and stared at his phone. 'Yeah that sounds about right' Lance thought bitterly, he sighed and called the restaurant to cancel his table. He got up slowly and began to walk down the path towards the park exit; he kept his head down and his hands in his pockets as he dragged his feet through the familiar streets.

_[Group chat] Pidge's Bitches_

_[Lancelot changed his name to Lancey Lance]_

_Pidgeon feathers: God dammit, I hate you_

_Lancey Lance: Yeah well so does the world apparently_

_Hunk of Love: What happened?_

_Lancey Lance: Oh nothing  
Lancey Lance: I just got stood up and dumped at the same time._

_Pidgeon feathers: Damn that's cold_

_Hunk of Love: You okay buddy?_

_Lancey Lance: Yeah_

Lance put his phone in his pocket, though he could feel it continue to vibrate, and crossed the street. When he got to the other side a poster caught his attention, he took a quick picture and sent it to the others.

_[Group chat] Pidge's Bitches_

_[Lancey Lance sent a picture]_

_Pidgeon feathers: Nooooppeee! Nope, no way, not doing that, no_

_Lancey Lance: C'mon Pidge it's been ages since we did karaoke!_

_Pidgeon feathers: Yeah cos the last time we went you got us thrown out for stripping to Moulin rouge!_

_Lancey Lance: I was drunk! I can't be held responsible!_

_Pidgeon feathers: ..._

_Lancey Lance: Katie pleeaasseee_

_Pidgeon feathers: Don't you go using my real name!_

_Lancey Lance: Katie please!_  
_Lancey Lance: Pleeeaaasseeee!_  
_Lancey Lance: KATIE!_  
_Lancey Lance: Please Katie Please!_  
_Lancey Lance: Kit-kat I need you I'm sad_

_Hunk of love: Shay and I are down for some karaoke!_

_Lancey Lance: YAASSS! You guys rock!  
Lancey Lance: KATIE!_

_Pidgeon feather: OMFG fine! Just stop!_

_Lancey Lance: Love you Pidgey xxx_

_[Pidgeon feathers changed the group name to Lance's Bitches]_

_"...I got you babe, I got you babe, I got you babe, I gooot youuuu baabeee~"_

A loud applause erupted as Hunk and Shay made their way off the stage and towards Pidge and Lance who were sitting at a table close to the bar.

"You guys are so cute together I want to throw up" Pidge said scrunching her nose up.

"Right?! They're so sweet it's sickening" Lance chimed in, Hunk and Shay just laughed loudly.

It had been a while since they all hung out, it was nice, the perfect pick me up for him. He hadn't seen Shay for a few weeks either; she had on big hoop earrings, her hair was up and tied with a bandana, she was wearing a simple black maxi dress and she was glowing. Lance wasn't sure if that was due to her pregnancy or if it was the fact that Hunks loving gaze had intensified so much that you couldn't help but look at her the way he did.

When Lance saw her that evening he congratulated her once again on growing a tiny human and she had offered her condolences about Nyma, but honestly he wasn't as upset about it as the thought he would have been. While he had been waiting for them all to meet him at the bar he had time to think and came to the conclusion that there's not much he can do about the situation and she clearly wasn't worth it. Besides he was having more fun with his friends than he would have had with her anyway.

"C'mon Pidge it's our turn to blow minds" Lance said as he grabbed Pidge by the hand and lead her up to the stage.

They had sung this song together millions of times; they knew all the lyrics by heart and had perfected their choreography. They always sang it as their finale as they knew it would get everyone singing and dancing.

 _"Foreign types with the hookah pipes say_  
_Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh_  
_Walk like an Egyptian"_

They executed their dance seamlessly earning whoops and cheers from the crowd, people were singing along with them loudly and most were showing off their best Egyptian walk. When they finished their act, they both bowed, flushed and grinning as the bar applauded loudly. They ran back to their table laughing, feeling exhilarated and spent the rest of the night drinking, chatting and enjoying the variety of songs.

It was getting late so they all decided to head off, Hunk and Shay lead the way to the door hand in hand. As they were about to leave Lance turned around to say something to Pidge but froze as he stared at the stage. There standing next to a tall muscular man was Keith, he had a mic in one hand and the other was on his hip, as if he felt we was being stared at he turned, locked eyes with Lance and smirked. Lance stood there, mouth agape, he barely had time to process what he saw before Pidge was pushing him out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda suck at all things art but I tried my hand at drawing what Lances shop would look like and what Bemmy's coffee lounge would look like too if you want to check it out. I've got a few Keith drawings I'll be uploading soon as well :)  
> Click [Here](http://teawiththehatter-posts.tumblr.com/)  or search teawiththehatter-posts to find my tumblr page.


	6. What the Quiznack?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My parents follow this fic and I think that’s both hilarious and adorable because they have no idea what voltron is but they like to support my writing, I love them x

This was ridiculous, completely stupid, utterly pathetic! So what if he saw Keith? It had been 6 weeks! Lance was over him...he should be over him...Why wasn’t he over him?! That goddamn perfect unicorn of a person; he disappears for weeks and then shows up out of nowhere and smirks?! On top of that he sings karaoke?! Keith’s status just upgraded to rival in Lance’s eyes. There was no way he was going to let some evasive jerk be better than him at karaoke!

Lance wanted to punch him in his stupid smug face! Was he trying to be infuriating? Did he purposely try and string Lance along? Was he just toying with Lance? Come to think of it Lance wasn’t even sure if Keith swung that way, but then he had blushed when Lance had joked and flirted and it seemed like Keith had flirted back, unless he was reading him completely wrong. But then if he was...Who was that guy that he was with? Lance didn’t really get a good look at him but he was handsome and well built. They could be gym buddies, Lance thought hopefully but maybe Keith was already in a relationship.

Whichever way he sliced it Lance was sure that if he went after Keith he was just setting himself up to be rejected. So why on God’s green earth was he standing outside the heavy wooden doors that he was far too familiar with?!

He hadn’t intended to go to the cafe when he set out that afternoon, at least that’s what he liked to think, he genuinely just wanted to walk around and collect his thoughts, but before he knew it he was frozen outside the doors, having a mental argument about whether or not he should walk in. He’d been standing there for ten minutes.

Every inch of his being wanted to run in the opposite direction but no matter how much he willed his body to move it wouldn’t. Why was it so hard to walk away? He already had a huge list of reasons of why searching for Keith would be a terrible idea so opening that door would be absolutely idiotic and Lance McClain was not an idiot. He was raised by Rosa Juanita Elizabeth Sanchez McClain and she made sure all her children were smart, analytical and made the best decisions for themselves!

“Perdón Mami but you actually raised an absolute idiota” Lance muttered as his body propelled him forward and he finally opened the door.

He stood at the entrance and sighed happily, he had honestly missed this place and if it weren’t for the negative associations he had it probably would have become his number one hang out spot. His eyes scanned the lounge and then his breath caught. There, sitting at the table he had taken Lance to, the same table Lance had spent hours waiting at, was Keith.

Keith was sat staring intently at his laptop, one elbow propped up onto the table, hand under his chin, and the other scrolled and clicked on whatever was on his screen. He was surrounded by piles of papers and note books, pens and highlighters were scattered about the table top and an empty mug sat discarded at the edge. Bemmy made his way over and swapped it for some freshly brewed black coffee, Keith lifted his head up slightly to smile and thank the barista before going back to staring at his work. He scrunched his nose in concentration then quickly turned to scribble something onto the page next to him, he absentmindedly tucked a strand of hair behind his ear while he worked. Most of his hair had been pulled up into a ponytail but his fringe and some wisps of hair had fallen out and framed his face, he was clad in a simple tight fitting white t-shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans and there were slight dark circles under his eyes.

A shadow fell over his table and Keith looked up slowly curious to see who it could be, his eyes locked onto blue ones and he stared in shock at the man before him. He hadn’t seen Lance properly in over a month but he had barely changed; he was just as tall as ever with slightly darker tanned skin than Keith remembered, his short brown hair was longer than before as well, flicking a little around his ears, it was probably due for a cut soon. He was wearing a loose blue and white baseball top and blue jeans but neither did a good job at concealing his figure, Lance wasn’t lanky despite what Keith had said, he had broad shoulders and toned arms, the body of a swimmer. Lance had his hands in his pockets in a relaxed manner but he looked just as surprised as Keith felt at the fact that they had finally met again.

Lance wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to say to Keith as he walked across the lounge and towards his table, he had half a mind to chew him out for disappearing but the minute he caught Keith’s attention and they locked eyes, his mind had gone blank. He wasn’t sure how long he stared but he knew it had been too long, say something! Anything! He mentally shouted at himself. He took a deep breath through his nose, opened his mouth and said the first thing that came to his mind.

“Can I have your number?” Lance wanted to scream and kick himself the minute the words left his mouth. _What was that?! That wasn’t smooth!! You haven’t seen this man in weeks and that’s the first thing you say?! Aaaaahhhhhh!_

Lance tried and failed to stop his face from turning red as he waited for Keith to respond. Keith blinked rapidly, his expression still shocked; he picked up a pen and scribbled his digits onto a corner of one of his sheets before he ripped it off and handed it to Lance. Lance stared numbly at the little piece of paper before he folded it and put it into his back pocket. Lance wanted to bolt out the door again in case he proceeded to say something stupid again but instead he held his ground.

“Is, er, this seat taken?” he said gesturing to the empty seat opposite Keith.

“No” Keith’s voice was hoarse he cringed internally before clearing his throat and trying again, “No, feel free to sit”

Keith began to gather all his papers into a messy pile, he then closed his laptop and put it to the side before taking hold of his freshly filled coffee mug and taking a sip. They both sat there awkwardly, unsure how to proceed after, Lance just wanted to flat out ask why Keith had disappeared for so long but he decided against such callousness and instead addressed the other elephant in the room.

“So...I didn’t have you pegged as a karaoke enthusiast” Lance said nonchalantly and Keith burst out laughing.

“Shiro was the one who dragged me there and I only sang because he promised we could do living on a prayer” He chuckled at the memory of Shiro practically begging him to go, “You were all really good by the way”

Lance frowned as he processed Keith’s words. “Is Shiro your..?”

“Hahaha no” Keith shook his head in amusement; “First, Shiro is straight” Lance relaxed and smiled slightly. So Keith wasn’t taken and more importantly, Lance had a shot.

“Second, he’s my brother” Keith smirked as he leant back and crossed his arms. Lance’s jaw dropped and his eye widened, his face turned a shade of crimson.

“I..What..I..er” Lance stammered, before he leant all the way back and covered his face with his hands “Aye Dios, I’m so sorry”

“Don’t be, we’re step brothers and look nothing alike so it’s a common mistake” Keith took a sip from his coffee, his eyes shimmered with laughter. “I just thought it would be funny to see you squirm. I was right”

Lance left out a big breath of air, lowered his hands and looked at Keith. He was trying really hard not to laugh again as he smirked at Lance from behind his mug. Lance quickly avoided his gaze looking around for a distraction; his eyes fell on the piles of papers on the side of the table.

“What were you working on before I interrupted?” Lance watched as Keith gingerly stroked the top of his laptop before he answered.  
“I was writing a report for my job” Keith said, surprised when he saw Lance leaning in eagerly.

“What do you do?”

“In a nutshell I guess I’m a researcher slash historian for the museum in town” Keith said, looking away from Lance’s intense gaze and fiddled with a pen instead.

“That’s so cool!” Lance said practically bouncing in his chair “I bet you get to research about loads of awesome stuff”

“Yeah I guess I do” Keith stopped fiddling with the pen and smiled at Lance’s enthusiasm “I just recently spent a month in the middle of a dessert with a translator because they discovered information about a new civilisation and that was pretty cool, I came back about a week ago”

Lance stared blankly at Keith as his mind put the pieces together. “So that’s why you weren’t here” he muttered, Keiths brow furrowed in confusion.

“Oh, erm, I had tried to look for you a few times” Lance looked away and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I left the day after we came here, I should have told you about it” Lance looked back Keith and saw that he was staring into his mug with a troubled expression, similar to when they first had coffee together. Lance smiled softly then waved his hand in front of Keith’s face in an attempted to get his attention, it worked and he looked up questioningly.

“It’s fine, you’re here now” Lance grinned at him. “So tell me about this ancient civilisation”

“It’s called Altea and the Alteans were incredibly advanced” Keith shared, his eyes lightening up with excitement. “We don’t know why they ceased to exist and why there’s minimal evidence of them because honestly they should have been the dominant civilisation, they even had electricity! How amazing is that?!”

Keith began pulling out papers from his pile as he explained things to Lance, getting pictures and documents up to show him. In all honesty Lance didn’t pay attention to half the things Keith had said, he was just so enamoured at how passionate Keith got over subject. It was clear that he loved his job and he seemed to excel in it, so lance smiled softly as Keith continued to divulge information.

“They have a unique language as well, words such as quintant, varga and deca-phoeb! We think those are used to measure time” Keith said flicking through his papers “They repeat Voltron and Quiznack a lot as well and-“

“Wait! Stop, what? Don’t move an inch!” Lance cut Keith off excitedly; Keith just stared at him stunned. “Did you just say Quiznack?!”

“Yes...?” Keith said slowly, unsure where Lance was heading with it.

“That’s the best word I’ve ever heard!” Lance was leaning so far forward he was right in front of Keith’s face, he could feel Lance’s breath on his cheek and it made him blush slightly. “We have to use it!”

Keith leaned back so he could clear his head “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard” He scoffed.

Lance gasped and leant back “You shut your quiznack!” Keith couldn’t help laughing at the word and the serious way in which Lance said it.

“I don’t think you're using that word correctly” He said, chuckling, Lance just grinned broadly and crossed his arms.

“Well that’s how I’m using it and you need to use it to!” Keith shook his head amused and Lance felt his phone vibrate, he took it out and quickly looked at the message.

“Ah Shit, I’ve got to go” Lance got up suddenly and smile apologetically “Hunk needs me and it sounds pretty urgent”

“Don’t worry about it” Keith said smiling.

“I’ll text you later!” Lance called as he ran towards the exit “I can do that now!” He said patting his back pocket.

Keith waved and smiled wistfully as the loud gorgeous boy left. He sighed happily and opened his laptop to continue working, but not before he took his phone out and put it next to him so he wouldn’t miss the message he eagerly waiting for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added a drawing of Keith writing his report on my [Tumblr](https://teawiththehatter-posts.tumblr.com/) check it out :)


	7. Damn Donuts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm sorry. I'm not 100% happy with this chapter but depression's a bitch and I struggled a lot to write this chapter (and the last few actually)  
> I'm not giving up on this story though, I know exactly where I want to take it but I hope I don't accidentally make it go stale.  
> Please bare with me, I love you all so much :) All the comments and Kudos make me so happy and encourage me to keep going even when I doubt myself, you're all so precious *Hands you all a sunflower*

_[23:05] Unknown: The emergency was a pregnant woman_

_[23:05] Cute Mullet: What the Quiznack?!_

_[23:07] Lance: Hahahaha awesome  
[23:07] Lance: Hunk needed me to pick up some doughnuts for Shay cos she wanted to eat them with the Chinese food he was cooking_

_[23:09] Cute mullet: Ok but that’s gross_

_[23:15] Lance: Fun fact #1 never tell a pregnant woman her food combination is gross_  
_[23:15] Lance: Fun fact #2 pregnant women are fucking scary!!_  
_[23:16] Lance: I nearly died_

_[23:20] Cute mullet: OMG, you’re a lunatic with a death wish_

_[23:22] Lance: or OR I’m an adrenaline junkie with a flair for danger_

_[23:23] Cute mullet: Nope_

_[23:23] Lance: I’m the bad boy you wish you could be_

_[23:25] Cute mullet: Definitely a lunatic_

_[23:26] Lance: You wound me  
[23:26] Lance: I’m changing your nickname to McStabbers_

_[23:27] McStabbers: Wait, what was my name before?_

_[23:28] Lance: You will never know!_

_[23:30] McStabbers: Pfft fine whatever it’s not like you have a nickname_

_[23:32] Lance: What?! Why not!_

_[23:33] McStabbers: because your name is Lance_

_[23:34] Lance: Yeah but I should be down as sexy Cuban_  
_[23:34] Lance: or boy of my dream_  
_[23:35] Lance: OR the ultimate bad boy ;)_

_[23:36] McStabbers: I change it to Cuba libre_

_[23:37] Cuba libre: you fucker..._

_[23:38] McStabbers: You changed my name to McStabbers!_

_[23:40] Cuba libre: Cos you keep stabbing my pride!!_

_[23:40] McStabbers: Yh whatever_

_[23:42] Cuba libre: hey what days do you work?_

_[23:43] McStabbers: Monday then Wednesday to Friday 8:30-5_

_[23:45] Cuba libre: Cool cool cool cool_  
_[23:45] Cuba Libre: It’s getting late, I’ve got to go_  
_[23:46] Cuba libre: Night Keith xx_

_[23:47] McStabbers: Night Lance_

“We are officially closing on Tuesdays!” Lance bellowed the minute he set foot into his shop the next day. He hadn’t anticipated someone besides Hunk being there and they jumped at Lance’s grand entrance; Hunk handed his customer their bouquet with an apology and Lance smiled sheepishly as they left.

“Try not to scare away customers Lance” Hunk said clearing up his station “Your flirting does enough of that already”

“Your flirting does enough of that already” Lance mimicked, walking to the back room to get his apron.

“Thanks again for the donuts last night” Hunk said when Lance reappeared and began looking through the day’s arrangement list.

“And thank _you_ for opening up this morning” Lance grinned, exaggerating his stretch “It was good to have a lie in”

Hunk rolled his eyes as he walked up to Lance and took the list from his hands “So why are you closing on Tuesdays?”

“Oh right yeah” Lance said dropping the hand that was reaching back for the piece of paper and placed it on his hip “So I was with Keith yesterday when you texted me and-“

“Wait wait wait wait wait what?” Hunk grabbed Lance by the arms and hoisted him up “You met with Keith?! _The_ Keith!”

“We only know of one Keith, Hunk” Lace said breathlessly “Stop shaking me!”

Hunk gasped suddenly and crushed Lance to his chest. “You left him cos I texted you! You left him for _donuts_! Why didn’t you tell me?! I could have gotten Pidge to do it!”

“Hunk I...can’t...breathe!” Lance gasped struggling against the large man’s death grip. Hunk let him go and he stumbled into the work top, the side of the table slamming into his ribs. “Hijo de...Urgghh”

“Sorry sorry” Hunk said frantically trying to comfort Lance as he held his side and sucked in a pained breath.

“I’m fine, just go stand over there while I finish my story so you don’t accidently kill me” Lance groaned as he pointed towards the other work station and watched as Hunk flushed and mumbled apologies as he made his way to the other side. Lance took a few more deep breaths to ease the pain before he straightened and continued talking.

“So as I was saying, I was with Keith and I finally got his number” Lance grinned triumphantly as Hunk applauded “So after the donut incident I was texting him and found out he works everyday but Tuesday so...yeah” Lance said smiling sheepishly.

“Oh my god you’re smitten”

Lance shrieked loudly and banged his elbow against the table. “Fucking quiznack!” He growled, rubbing his sore limb “How long have you been there?” Lance spat accusingly.

“Long enough” Pidge smirked as she got up from the stall she was perched on in the corner of the room. She walked over to them and hopped onto the counter she and Hunk work on.

“You guys need to be more observant if I was a customer I would have been left waiting for too long” She said, nudging Hunk while Lance stuck his tongue out at her.

“What cha doing here Pidgey? It’s not a Saturday” Hunk said ruffling her hair.

“I had a free day” She shrugged, adjusting her glasses “Thought I’d come here and annoy you guys”

“Aww you do care about us” Lance cooed, his head in his hands as he gave her his best lovey dovey look.

She looked him dead in the eyes and jumped off the counter. “I changed my mind” She said as he walked towards the door.

“Aw c’mon Pidge, come back” Hunk said trying to coax her back while Lance laughed loudly.

“Yeah Pigeon I was only teasing” Lance said chuckling.

Pidge turned and raised an eyebrow “Alright, tell me more about how you’re going to close the shop for a boy you’ve met three times”

“I...what...I’m not...” Lance sputtered turning red in the face, Hunk and Pidge shared a look, grinning smugly. “It’s not just about him! Tuesdays are so boring! I wanted to close for ages and...So yeah...Why not?”

“Boy he’s got you hooked”

“Yeah well, shut up!” Lance turned away from them and tried to busy himself, ignoring the snickering that came from behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also apologies for the shortness of the chapter, I'll make sure the others are longer. Besides I feel like this is going to be well over 15 chapters so I hope that makes up for it lol ^.^


	8. Praise Cheesus!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your understanding and support! This week was so much better that I wrote a long chapter before the week is even up! I couldn't wait until Friday so you all get to read it today :)
> 
> I also say sofa a lot, I think it's primarily couch in America right? But hey ho I'm too British for that lol  
> Besides sofas are sofa king cool (Say it fast and laugh with me hahaha)

_“Keith”_

_“Keith~”_

“Keith!”

A hand flew in front of Keith’s face, snapping him out of his reverie. He blinked, momentarily confused as to where he was; he looked up and saw Shiro waiting expectantly and remembered that they were hanging out in their living room.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” He asked sheepishly, Shiro sighed then smiled softly.

“I asked if you wanted a hot drink”

“Oh, yes please” Shiro nodded and walked over to the kitchen.

“Tea?” He called as he filled the kettle with water.

“Please” Keith answered as he adjusted his position on the sofa. He looked around the room mindlessly and his eyes settled on an old photograph of the two of them. It had been taken almost 10 years ago and it was amusing to see how much they had changed; Keith had shorter hair back then though he had had a ridiculously long fringe which he back combed and swept over one eye and he was a bit too generous with the eyeliner. Keith crinkled his nose, cringing at the image of himself, he examined Shiro in the picture; he was tall and skinny with jet black hair, he had his arm around Keith and was grinning broadly.

Keith looked over at Shiro as he moved around the kitchen and smiled. He was still tall but he had bulked out a lot, he had spent years training in the gym and in martial arts and it was definitely showing; his hair was no longer jet black though, the front was now white. Keith chuckled remembering how that came about, a few years back Keith got so drunk he thought it would be hilarious to spray paint his brothers hair white, the joke was on him though because Shiro loved it and got it professionally done.

Keith loved to tell people that he was responsible for Shiro’s new style; he eyed his brother as he stood there in a white tank top and grey sweats but frowned when he looked at Shiro’s right arm. Unfortunately that wasn’t the only change he was responsible for.

He was sure that Shiro would berate him if he knew what Keith was thinking, but how could he not? Perhaps if he had left earlier or if he had been more responsible he wouldn’t have had to call Shiro to pick him up and Shiro wouldn’t have gotten into an accident. He was constantly told not to blame himself, that it was the fault of the drunk driver but the fact was that if it weren’t for him, Shiro would not have been out that night.

The crash had been devastating. Shiro’s body became riddled with scars, the most visible one being across his face; it started just under the left eye and went across his nose to the other side. Worst of all he had lost his right arm, just above the elbow. Fortunately the technology in prosthetics had improved massively and they were able to get him one that connected to his nerve endings and allowed him to move it almost normally.

It had been Shiro’s idea to have a robotic arm instead of opting for one more ‘human’ like. He said he didn’t want to pretend as though it had never happened and he didn’t want to be ashamed of it; he wanted to show that it’s okay to be ‘broken’, it’s okay to be handicapped, because it doesn’t detract from who you are or what you’re worth. Shiro spent his time travelling from one place to another, lecturing about the dangers of hazardous driving and encouraging those who have gone through a similar trauma. Keith was immensely proud of his brother, yet still felt immensely guilty.

Keith thanked Shiro for the tea and watched as he sat cross legged on the arm chair; Keith smiled as he noticed the pink fluffy socks Shiro wore. Shiro loves fluffy socks and every Christmas Keith buys him a pair; sometimes they’re nice ones other times they’re tacky but it didn’t matter to Shiro because he’d wear them all.

“So were you thinking about so intensely?” Shiro asked as he sipped his drink.

“Oh you know; everything and nothing” Keith shrugged.

“Okay that’s vague” Shiro said lowering his mug “Care to expand?”

“I was thinking about you” Shiro’s brow furrowed; he knew where that train of thought led but Keith continued quickly “and work and er...flowers”

“Flowers?” Shiro asked. Keith took a sip of his tea and looked away, trying hard not to blush. He wasn’t really thinking about flowers, more about a florist...but he wasn’t about to reveal that piece of information.

“Yeah...I was er thinking about what my favourite flower would be” He mumbled

“And?” Shiro said lightly sceptical but also rather interested.

“Well obviously white lilies hold a significance to me” Shiro nodded not wanting to interrupt, “but I think I would say Sunflowers, they’re pretty ordinary in a way, not a lot of people like them but they’re pretty versatile and they mean adoration”

“I dunno, they’re underrated but I like them” Keith said with a shrug as he smiled at Shiro. “What about you?”

“Apple blossoms, they mean peace” Shiro answered without hesitation, as if he had been asked that question many times before. They both sat there in silence, contemplating the others answer, after a few minutes Shiro got up and moved to put his mug in the sink.

“Well I’m off to bed, goodnight Keith” Shiro waved and he headed towards his room.

“Night Shiro” Keith managed to say before he heard the door close.

Keith placed his mug down on the coffee table and stretched himself out on the sofa before taking out his phone. It was 9:30pm on a Friday night; he chuckled leaning his head back to look at his brother’s room, honestly Shiro was an 80 year old trapped in a 33 year olds body. Keith looked back down at his phone and let his mind wander to his previous thoughts.

He and Lance hadn’t messaged each other since the whole pregnant donut deal, but Keith just couldn’t bring himself to text first. He knew it was stupid and it wasn’t a matter of pride, he just wasn’t very good at putting himself out there; every time he typed out a message he would quickly delete it and give up.

Keith opened up the chat and sighed. This was ridiculous, Lance clearly wanted to talk to him otherwise he wouldn’t have asked for his number or gone out of his way to try and find him, honestly Keith should bite the bullet and message him. Nothing could be worse than silence!

_[21:45] So I take it you’re Cuban_

He was wrong, silence was way better than what he just wrote! What made him think _that_ would be a good idea?! He groaned and threw his phone across the sofa; this is why he doesn’t text first! Not only was it clearly a grab at a conversation, but the answer to the question was obviously yes and he wasn’t even 100% sure that topic wasn’t discussed when they first met. If he’s perfectly honest he remembers very little about the florist who occupied his thoughts for so many weeks.

While he was busy beating himself up, his phone buzzed and he froze.

_[21:55] Cuba libre: ¿Jajaja como adivinaste?  
[21:55] Cuba libre: Yeah I’m Cuban_

_[21:57] McStabbers: It was just a hunch._

_[22:00] Cuba libre: Nice hunch  
[22:00] Cuba libre: Wait! Do you speak Spanish?_

_[22:02] McStabbers: Errr very little but yes_

_[22:02] Cuba libre: OMG that’s amazing! I had no idea!!_

_[22:04] McStabbers: I guess there’s a lot we don’t know about each other_

_[22:05] Cuba libre: That’s true and the last time we spoke was more than a month ago  
[22:05] Cuba libre: How about we start again?_

_[22:07] McStabbers: What do you mean?_

_[22:08] Cuba libre: Hey xx_  
[22:08] Cuba libre: The name’s Lance ;)  
[22:09] Cuba libre: *Finger guns*

_[22:10] McStabbers: No._

_[22:11] Cuba libre: Did you come here for some flowers?_

_[22:12] McStabbers: Stop._

_[22:12] Cuba libre: Jajaja ok ok  
[22:13] Cuba libre: but why don’t we meet up? You free Saturday evening?_

_[22:14] McStabbers: Sounds good to me_

_[22:15] Cuba libre: Great!  
[22:15] Cuba libre: I know just the place!_

* * *

 

“You’re taking him to the Italian restaurant?!” Pidge screeched. She and Hunk had just spent the last half an hour watching Lance laugh and grin at his phone like an idiot before he excitingly announced his plans for Saturday.

“You never take anyone there until you’re sure about them and you nearly made the mistake of taking Nyma there!” Hunk chimed in. “What makes Keith worth it?”

“I really like him okay! It’s really easy to talk to him, he makes me laugh, plus he’s hot! Like melt your butter hot!” Lance sighed wistfully and flopped backwards on to the floor. Pidge rolled her eyes and nudged his foot.

“If he’s as good as you say he is then you have to introduce him to us soon” She said going back to reading her book, Lance turned his head and beamed at her.

“Okay deal” Lance shot up and sat cross legged in front of his two friends that were chilling in his living room. “Besides I feel like I’ve missed out on 6 weeks of possible wooing so I can’t waste any more time, I’ve got to bring out the big guns!”

“Oh cheese and crackers” Hunk mumbled, shaking his head. Both Pidge and Lance stared at him questioningly.

“Did you just say cheesus crackers?” Lance said slowly.

“No! Cheese _and_ crackers!” Hunk said quickly waving his hands in denial.

“Okay dude, like I know you don’t swear much but seriously?” Lance said pulling himself up on the sofa next to Pidge so they could both judge Hunk as he sat in the armchair.

“Shay doesn’t want us to swear around the baby so she’s making me form ‘good habits’ now” Hunk said blushing.

“So you want them to come out of the womb praising cheesus?!” Pidge sneered, adjusting her glasses.

“That’s not what I said!” Hunk whined.

“Absolutely not! No godchild of mine will join a cheesus cult!” Lance said aghast, Pidge snickered.

“Wait who said you were God father?” Pidge asked.

“I’m self appointed” Lance said, puffing his chest out in pride. Pidge clicked her tongue then turned back to Hunk.

"I understand you're not meant to use the Lords name in vain but don't replace him with cheese!" Pidge said

"Praise Cheesus!" Lance shouted, lifting his hands up dramatically “Oh oh! I know what their holy trinity is! Hard, cream and string cheese!”

Lance cackled at his own joke, falling across Pidge’s lap with tears in his eyes. Pidge shortly followed, clutching her sides and laughing harder as Lance’s head bounced against her knees. Hunk just sat there with his head in his hands; groaning.

“Every time I’m with you guys you make me question my life choices” He mumbled. Lance and Pidge laughter died down to occasional chuckles but Lance didn’t remove his head of Pidge’s lap, she picked up her book again and rested it on his temple.

“Whatever, if it weren’t for us you wouldn’t have met Shay” Pidge said.

“Where is she tonight anyway?” Lance asked.

“She went to a knitting club” Hunk said removing his head from his hands. “I offered to teach her but she got angry saying I wasn’t teaching her right, then she tried to stab me with a needle, then she cried when she missed”

“Wow that story’s wild” Pidge chuckled while Lance nodded before pushing himself up off her lap and standing up.

“I’m gonna get some snacks” He said stretching before heading to his kitchen “Do you guys want anything?”

Pidge looked at Hunk with a glint in her eye. “Yeah, do you have any cheese and crackers?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I came up with the whole cheesus thing at like 2am and it was hilarious then and goddammit it's hilarious now!


	9. Summer breeze

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is kinda late but super long, I just had so much I wanted to include and I still had to cut things out because it was just getting ridiculous by this point. Anyway enjoy!
> 
> Also guys I'm in tears that this has over 1000 hits, I love you all so much thank you for reading and encouraging me! xxxx

_[10:30] Cuba libre: Meet me at the shop at 6  
[10:30] Cuba libre: We’ll leave once I lock up_

_[10:35] McStabbers: Alright, see you then_

Keith re-read the messages for the hundredth time that day, confirming once again that it wasn’t a dream or a cruel joke. He threw his phone back onto his bed, took a deep breath then went back to scrutinising his reflection.

He had tried to keep him himself distracted for most of the day, he had gone for a run, tried to write more of his report for work and even joined Shiro for his yoga session (much to Shiro’s surprise) but nothing really worked.

Finally at half four he gave up with a sigh and trudged to his room to get ready and calm his nerves. He practically emptied his entire wardrobe onto his floor in the process of finding something he wanted to wear, though he spent most of the time just in his underwear as he debated over possible outfits. He finally settled on ripped black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt and black combat boots, he tied a red and black flannel shirt round his waist in case it got cold.

Keith frowned as he stared at his face, the tips of his fingers prodded the slightly swollen skin under his eyes and he clicked his tongue in annoyance. He hadn’t slept very well again and it was starting to show, he grabbed his concealer and blended it around his eyes; once he was satisfied that he no longer looked like the walking dead, he turned his attention to his hair. It was having a bit of a rebellious day and was revelling in it’s unruliness, Keith pouted for a second before pulling it up into a messy bun.

He gave himself a final once over and nodded, happy with the result. He picked up his phone again and checked the time; it was now half five, (wow he took an embarrassingly long time getting ready) it would take him twenty minutes to get there, he put his phone and wallet in his pocket and headed out of his room.

He saw Shiro sat in the arm chair reading a book; he had his glasses perched on the end of his nose and was clad in the usual sweats and vest combo he uses when lounging around, though this time he was wearing extra fluffy bunny socks.

“See you later Shiro!” Keith said as he passed. Shiro looked over the rim of his glasses at his brother and in an instant was blocking the door.

“Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah! Where are you going?” Shiro said standing with his arms crossed.

“Shit, how the fuck do you move so fast?” Keith muttered, surprised and annoyed he was being prevented from leaving the house. Shiro just removed his glasses and raised an eyebrow expectantly. “I’m twenty six Shiro I don’t exactly need to ask for permission”

“I don’t want you to ask for permission” Shiro said, his eyes suddenly glistening in a way that made Keith’s stomach drop, “I want details”

Keith groaned and tried to push past Shiro in vain; Shiro just laughed, grabbed Keith by the waist and hoisted him over his shoulder. Keith flailed about, thumping Shiro’s back with his fists and narrowly missing his face with his feet, all the while releasing a string of curse words.

“Honestly who taught you how to swear? A sailor?” Shiro chuckled, dumping his brother onto the arm chair and putting his hands on Keith’s shoulders to keep him there.

“A bastard that’s keeping me hostage in my own home” Keith sulked resigning to his fate; Shiro moved round to sit on the sofa and Keith stuck his tongue out and flipped him off.

“So where are you heading all dolled up?” Shiro asked, leaning against the arm rest.

“I’m not dolled up” Keith muttered, crossing his arms. Shiro grinned broadly at the sight of Keith’s slight blush and reached over to poke his brother’s side.

“Who is he? How did you meet? What does he do? Is he cute?” Shiro gushed, poking Keith with each question.

“Nope not doing this, I’m out” Keith said slapping his hands down onto his knees before jumping up and walking to the door.

“Keithster Kylie Gaygane come back here and tell me who this boy is!” Shiro shouted after him.

“That’s not my name you shit head!” Keith shouted back, slamming the door as he heard Shiro laugh heartedly. He huffed angrily and marched down the stairs and out of his apartment complex, he checked his phone and swore; stupid Shiro had made him late!

Lance stood leaning against the wall next to his shop as he waited for Keith. He had one leg bent, his foot up against the bricks, and he briefly thought that his position would be more comfortable if his jeans weren’t so tight but out of habit he left it as it was. The sleeves of his blue shirt were rolled up but he had a black trench coat draped over one of his arms just in case, it may be August but the clouds were not a good omen and he promised Keith he would wear a thicker coat next time.

He leaned his head back and smiled, it may have taken two month (an atrocity really) but he was finally going on a date with Keith. Though come to think of it he didn’t really make it clear it was a date, despite his intentions, he hoped Keith didn’t take it at just a friendly meet up. Lance pouted slightly but then shook his head, it doesn’t matter, if this went well then Lance will just take him out on more dates (and he’ll make it explicitly clear what they are).

Lance could hear hurried footsteps making their way down the street; he turned his head towards the incoming sound and pushed himself off the wall when he recognised Keith. He watched as Keith came to stop just in front of him, his breathing was slightly heavier and a dusting of pink spread lightly across his cheeks and nose. Lance smirked slightly as he appraised him; Keith caught his stare and put his hands on his hips, daring Lance to say something.

“Sorry I’m late” Keith huffed “I was ambushed by Shiro before I could make it out the house”

“Yeah I know the feeling” Lance said with a laugh, he all but had to ban Hunk and Pidge from staying behind to spy on him though he knows they’ll get their revenge on him somehow. “So what did you say to him?”

“Nothing I just walked away” Keith said with a shrug.

“But that was your perfect opportunity to brag about me!” Lance said with a devious grin “You should have been all like ‘ _I’m just meeting up with the most handsome man in the world, he makes me weak at the knees! Heaven help me!’_ ” He swooned placing a hand on his forehead dramatically.

Keith crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow; unimpressed. “You’re an idiot, did you know that?”

“So I’ve been told” Lance said with a shrug, he then finger gunned and grinned “but I’m a sexy idiot”

Keith rolled his eyes but couldn’t help smiling. He tilted his head and nodded towards the end of the street, back the way he came. “Shall we?”

Lance beamed and gestured for Keith to begin walking; Keith turned on his heel and Lance was about to follow him when he stopped short, staring at the back of Keith’s head.

“You have an undercut!” He blurted out.

Keith turned his head in shock and one of his hands flew up to rub the buzzed part of his hair self consciously. “Er yeah, I got it done the other day”

Lance jogged up to where Keith was and smiled, “It looks good!”

“Thanks” Keith mumbled, blushing slightly.

“It really suits you” Lance continued “Makes you like the ultimate edge lord, now you just need some piercings”

“Actually I already have piercings” Keith said, following Lance as they began to walk down the road again.

“Wait, what?!”

Lance spun round so that he was in front of Keith, grabbing either side of him, Lance’s jacket slowly slid off his arm and crumpled at their feet. Keith blushed but couldn’t bring himself to look away as Lance scrutinised his face. His eyes roamed over Keith’s face until they fell onto his left ear where Lance noticed a tragus and helix piercing.

“How did I not see these before” Lance mumbled, glaring at the pieces of metal. Keith laughed causing Lance to blink and look back at Keith’s face, he suddenly realised how close their faces were and quickly ducked down to pick up his jacket while trying to fight a blush.

“Your guess is as good as mine Lance” Keith chuckled. Lance smiled then turned and waved his hand nonchalantly as they starting walking again.

“Clearly I was distracted the last few times”

“Distracted by what?” Keith asked.

“By your pretty face” Lance said, turning his head to wink at Keith. Keith spluttered, caught off guard; Lance laugh heartedly at the look on his face. “Don’t combust on me now Keith; we haven’t even made it to the restaurant yet”

Keith scowled, pouting slightly, making Lance chuckle. “So, are you planning on getting anymore piercings?” He asked.

“I contemplated getting my tongue pierced” Keith said with a side glance at Lance and a sly grin. Now it was Lance’s turned to not combust.

“Why-“ Lance cringed as his voice broke and cleared his throat, “Why don’t you get it done?”

Keith chuckled then shrugged. “It takes ages to heal and your tongue swells up a lot. Though I bet you’d get a kick out of that, if I couldn’t talk properly”

“I can neither confirm nor deny your statement” Lance said shaking his head, he then grinned “You’re just going to have to get it done and see”

Keith snorted and rolled his eyes, “What about you? I bet you have your belly button done, I’m calling it now”

Lance laughed loudly “No I don’t, I use to have my eyebrow pierced though”

“Really?” Keith questioned with a sceptical look.

“Yes really” Lance said, Keith snorted. “Hey don’t judge, I looked hot!”

“So where is it?”

“I had to take it out for an MRI” Keith raised a brow questioningly but Lance shook his head, “It’s a long story, but yeah that shit hurts to put back in so...”

“Hahaha fair enough”

“Besides I don’t think I’m particularly cool enough for one anymore” Lance said.

“What do you mean?” Keith asked, puzzled.

“I dunno I feel like I would need to grow my hair out for it” Lance shrugged “But my hair is too curly for that mess”

“You have curly hair?!” Keith said eyeing up Lance’s hair.

“Not at this length” Lance laughed, “It mainly just flicks annoyingly so I have to blow dry it straight”

“Have you ever had long hair?” Keith questioned.

“Oh yeah, when I was younger it was chin length and super curly” He chuckled at the memory, “I had to keep it back with an Alice band, thought I was so cool cos all the footballers were doing it too”

“I don’t believe you, I need photo evidence” Keith laughed.

“Oh hell no! Those pictures are in the pits of hell where they belong!” Lance said in mock outrage, causing Keith to snort with laughter.

They continued laughing and talking as Lance lead them through the park towards the restaurant. Lance revelled in the fact that it was so easy to talk to Keith, like he would slot perfectly into the jigsaw of Lance’s life. He was also super proud that his flirting was being well received; every stutter or blush he got from Keith was like a tally point in his favour, of course he wasn’t all too please that Keith could give as good as he got and Lance had to fight down (and fail at doing so) multiple blushes himself. As they approached the restaurant Keith turned to Lance excitedly.

“Are we going to Nino’s?”

“Yeah...why?” Lance asked hesitantly.

“I love this place! It’s the only one I can get Shiro to come with me to because it’s not fast food” Keith chuckled; Lance just stared at him incredulously.

“Dear Lord, I think I’m in love” Lance said clutching his heart, “How have I never seen you here before?”

“Clearly my face isn’t pretty enough to distract you here” Keith said with a smirk.

“The fondue is pretty beautiful” Lance said with a nod, “I can’t believe you love this place too, I’m here like all the time!”

“C’mon then, let’s go, I’m starved!” Keith said, he grabbed Lance’s hand and pulled him to the entrance.

“This date better go well, else we’ve just ruin our favourite restaurant” Lance joked. Keith let go of his hand to open the door before he turned his head to smile at Lance.

“I don’t think we have to worry about that” He said with a wink before walking inside. Lance clutched his heart again before following him in.

The waitress led them to a table next to a window that gave them a great view of the park’s fountain, before handing them their menus. They thanked her before scanning the choices available.

“So what do you normally get? I tend to get the fondue and a salad. So I don’t, you know, die from high cholesterol” Lance said with a laugh.

“It’s like you read my mind” Keith said with a grin, Lance beamed back at him. _Was this man even real?_

* * *

 

“So of course the day I run out of contacts just happens to be my graduation” Lance said, waving a breadstick animatedly in the air. “So I reluctantly take my glasses but I don’t really want to wear them in photos”

Keith chuckled as he dipped another breadstick into the pot of hot cheese they got to share; he had a feeling he knew where this story was heading.

“So anyway I’m about to get called up onto the stage, so I stick my glasses in my pocket thinking I’ll be fine cos it’s like four steps right? Nope, there were five. I missed the top step and fucking face planted in front of everyone!” Lance said shaking his head at the memory; Keith snorted with laughter.

“It gets worse” Lance said solemnly.

“Fucking how?” Keith asked, still laughing.

“I get up awkwardly and just want to get off the stage asap; so I grab my diploma and rush to the course leader who is waiting to shake my hand but I’m so embarrassed and blind that I missed his hand and straight up jabbed him in the stomach!” Lance said, groaning at his embarrassment.

“Oh my God, how blind are you?!” Keith asked breathlessly as he clutched his sides to try and stop himself from shaking with laughter.

“I don’t want to answer that” Lance said, laughing along with Keith.

“You’re such an idiot” Keith said, shaking his head as he chuckled.

“I know” Lance grinned.

“So if you studied astrology how did you end up running a flower shop?” Keith asked.

“Oh, well I grew up in Cuba but I’m the youngest in my family so I spent most of my childhood being looked after by my abuelita” Lance began, playing around with his fork. “She loved flowers and I would spend hours with her in the garden learning how to look after them”

“She passed away shortly after I graduated and I found myself reading gardening books and things like that to feel close to her” Lance smiled softly, looking out the window at the park. Keith sat there quietly never taking his eyes off Lance as he spoke. “So one day I walked past the shop and it was for sale; I instantly knew it would make a beautiful flower shop, so I used the money my abuelita left me and opened one up in her honour.”

“Does the name have significance as well?” Keith said hesitantly, not really knowing what to say but not wanting Lance to stop talking about the shop.

“Yeah” Lance chuckled, “Abuelita’s favourite plant was a cactus she named azul, she gave it to me as a graduation present and it sits on my work bench in the shop. So yeah, that’s the origin story of Blue’s flowers”

“It’s a beautiful origin story” Keith said smiling warmly, Lance beamed back. In that moment it felt as if they were sucked into their own bubble, everyone and everything disappeared as they got lost in each other’s company.

Their bubble was popped the minute the waitress came over to take away their dishes. She asked if they wanted to see the dessert menu but they both shook their heads at the same time before Lance asked for the bill. They left the restaurant in silence, neither wanting to break the spell they were under, the feeling of happiness was almost tangible while they walked back through the park with the sun began to set. Lance looked over at Keith and his breath caught at the sight; he was staring ahead with a soft smile across his lips, the brilliant orange that painted the clouds illuminated his face like a halo, Keith glanced up at Lance and his grin broadened, the corners around his eyes crinkled and Lance felt his heart swell.

Keith reached out and took Lance’s hand in his own, he heard Lance’s breath hitch and squeezed his hand affectionately. Keith marvelled at the soft hand held in his, it felt so natural and so assuring that he wondered why he hadn’t initiated it before. The entire evening had gone better than he had even dared to hope; there were very few people that made Keith feel at ease, very few people who knew who he really was, he had lived his life of a self made island, detached and isolated yet before he knew it Lance was sitting next to him sharing his haven. There was something about Lance that Keith knew he didn’t want to let go of.

Just like the first time, Keith walked Lance home. The journey was over far too short for their liking and soon enough they were standing in front of the building’s entrance.

“This was nice” Lance said softly, not letting go of Keith’s hand as he turned to face him “Better than nice! I think it’s safe to say that Nino’s is not ruined”

“I’ll say” Keith chuckled.

“Do you want to go out again? Say Tuesday? We recently cut down to five days at the shop so...” Lance asked, suddenly feeling irrationally nervous.

“I’d love to” Keith said with a smile, Lance sighed in relief and smiled back. They stood on the top step, hands still clasped together, not wanting to say goodbye but knowing they must. Eventually Keith began to make his way down the steps, holding on to Lance’s hand until the distance was too great, he put his hand in his pocket as it began to tingle from the sudden absence of warmth and smiled at Lance one last time.

“I’ll see you on Tuesday” He said and he began to walk away, Lance nodded, not trusting his voice as he watched him go.

Lance sighed happily and walked into his building, he began replaying the evening in his mind as he walked up the stairs and unlocked his apartment door. He had barely been inside long enough to hang up his coat when he heard urgent knocking on his door; he stood there staring at the entrance in confusion for a minute before making his way towards it. He wasn’t expecting anyone and he hadn’t seen anyone in the halls on his way up so who could possibly be demanding entrance? Lance shrugged slightly before opening the door.

“Why didn’t you kiss him?!” Pidge shrieked as she pushed past Lance and made her way into his apartment; Hunk and Shay following close behind. Lance stood there dumbstruck as he watched his friends make themselves comfortable in his living room.

“What...? How did you know?!” Lance shouted back, slamming his door shut and stomping towards the gang.

“Oh please, we’ve been hiding out in Hunk’s car for the past hour waiting for you to come home” Pidge said as she stretched herself out on one of Lance’s sofas while Hunk and Shay moved to sit on the other.

“ _Huuunnkk_ ”

“Sorry dude, it was Shay’s idea” Hunk said with a shrug.

“ _Shay_ ” Lance whined plopping himself onto the bay window seat in front of them.

“Sorry Lance but the minute Hunk told me about your date I had to get all the details” Shay said with an innocent look, Lance just pouted and crossed his arms.

“Yeah so c’mon spill, we need to live our gay romances through you” Pidge said sitting up and staring at Lance intently.

“Why are you in Pyjamas?” Lance questioned, just realising that she was wearing SpongeBob pyjama trousers and a green hoodie, he looked over at the couple and saw that they were wearing Pj’s too.

“We intend on getting _all_ the details” Pidge said with a devious glint in her eyes “So we’re prepared for a long night”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I realised when writing this that I'm not great at writing romance partly because I'm super dense and didn't even know when my fiancee was flirting me or when he took me out on a date (I honestly thought we were going as friends lol) but mainly because I almost exclusively write murder mysteries so you guys are joining me while I do a crazy writing exercise lol hope I don't botch it up.
> 
> I also gave Keith an undercut cos I recently got one myself and I like to think he would get one for the same reasons as me (I.e. not all the hair was long enough to go into a ponytail and bobby pins suck!)
> 
> I have some more drawings I'll be posting on my Tumblr soon so keep an eye out for that :)


	10. Cheese and sprinkles!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to all who hated me for not making them kiss! DON'T WORRY THEY WILL!
> 
> P.s Who saw Keith's vlog?! SOMEONE GIVE THAT BOY A HUG!!

The sun was annoyingly bright as it streamed in through the windows; Lance groggily thought that he should really upgrade his curtains as his current ones were doing a pathetic job at keeping the light out. He turned heavily, the springs of the sofa bed protesting loudly and he found himself face to face with a sleeping Pidge. Her features were peaceful though her hair was a dishevelled halo and she was breathing softly. Lance groaned, moving to lay on his back and rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes, he felt Pidge stir next to him.

“Your breath fucking stinks Lance” She mumbled pulling the blanket a little higher over her head.

“It’s too early for your shit gremlin” Lance sighed.

“Not my fault you fed me after midnight”

“Urgh damn Shay and her craving for cheese popcorn” Lance whined and Pidge snorted, suddenly they heard a small pained voice.

“Why do you guys hate me?”

Pidge and Lance shot up in bed and stared toward the kitchen where Shay was standing, coffee in hand, looking like she was on the brink of tears. _Shit, shit, shit, shit!_ They both flew out off their bed, fumbling over the sheets and ran over to Shay hugging her tightly.

“We don’t hate you! We love you Shay! Please don’t cry!” Lance said panicking, squeezing her trying to assure her. Pidge pressed her face into Shays side mumbling agreements.

“You were so mean!” Shay sobbed and Lance choked at the sight of tears.

“Hunk!!” Lance shrieked, “Hunk! Help us!”

Hunk came running out of Lance’s bedroom looking ready to fight someone when he skidded to a stop in front of them. He stared in confusion at his two friends hugging his crying wife like their lives depended on it.

“They hate me Hunk!” Shay cried, running into her husband’s arms. Hunk stroked her hair trying to calm her while staring incredulously at the terrified people standing in the kitchen.

“That’s not true!” Lance said, his voice shaking, “It was a misunderstanding, we love you Shay” Pidge nodded furiously, looking completely out of her element and Hunk smiled at them.

“See honey they don’t hate you” Hunk said soothingly, kissing her temple. “Now why don’t I make you some breakfast? Do you want a bagel?”

“Yes please” She sniffled.

“Cream cheese?” He asked and she nodded.

“And sprinkles” She added as she walked off to Lance’s room.

“I...yeah sure...and sprinkles” Hunk mumbled after her. When the door closed he sighed and smiled softly before joining the others in the kitchen.

Pidge and Lance had moved to sit on the stool by the kitchen island and watched as Hunk walked up to Lance’s bread bin and took out a packet of bagels. They sat there suddenly feeling very drained; Pidge yawned loudly before resting her chin on her arms, her hair was sticking up in all directions and had fallen into her eyes, Lance’s didn’t look much better and they were both squinting slightly from their lack of glasses.

“You’re lucky I love bagels or you’d be screwed” Lance yawned as Hunk made quick work of Shay’s breakfast.

“I’m also lucky you have a weird obsession with sprinkles” Hunk responded, shaking the rainbow sugar pellets onto the cream cheese.

“I like them on ice-cream” Lance mumbled, Pidge snorted and he glared at her.

“How are you older than me?” She sneered.

“Should I really need to be telling you about the birds and the bees at your age Pidge?” Lance quipped, sticking his tongue out as she grumbled. Hunk chuckled as he handed them both a cup of coffee before leaving to deliver his beloved her breakfast. When he returned they both looked a little bit more awake.

“So what are you guys doing today?” Lance asked taking a big sip of his coffee and burning his tongue a little bit in the process, “Not that I don’t love you but like...please leave”

“Always a charmer” Pidge snorted into her mug, “Don’t worry we won’t hang around, we got what we came for”

“Besides Shay and I have one of those birthing classes in a few hours” Hunk chimed in, pouring himself a coffee.

“And I have a paper I need to be working on” Pidge said.

_[10:30] Cuba libre: I had a lot of fun yesterday :)  
[10:30] Cuba libre: I hope you didn’t get ambushed by Shiro when you got home_

_[10:32] McStabbers: Me too_   
_[10:32] McStabbers: Nah he was in bed when I got home_   
_[10:33] McStabbers: like the old man he is_

_[10:37] Cuba libre: lucky!_   
_[10:37] Cuba libre: My friends burst into my house like straight away_   
_[10:38] Cuba libre: wearing pjs! And demanding details!_   
_[10:38] Cuba libre: They only just left!_

_[10:39] McStabbers: That sounds horrendous_   
_[10:39] McStabbers: I do not envy you_

_[10:40] Cuba libre: Yeah well you’ll be next_

_[10:41] McStabbers: Oh crap I didn’t realise Shiro was in the living room_   
_[10:41] McStabers: Shit! He saw me!!_   
_[10:41] McSabbers: HELP!!!_

_[10:41] Cuba libre: Karma. Bitch._

Keith stood staring at Shiro like a deer in headlights. He quickly reviewed all of his options; he could go back to his room but Shiro could easily follow him and he’d be trapped or he could go lock himself in the bathroom but again he’d be trapped. He looked around the living space; Shiro was sitting in his arm chair (again. Honestly it’s an unspoken rule that the chair is his) and could easily block the exit like yesterday, but there was a window behind Keith...was a broken arm worth it?

 _Yes. Yes it was._ He turned around and slid the window open; he had one leg on the sill and half of his body out, ready to jump, when he heard Shiro sigh.

“Sit down Keith” Shiro said with a chuckle. Keith grumbled and reluctantly closed the window, he flopped himself onto the sofa and resigned himself to his fate.

“So who were you with yesterday?” Shiro asked. _Oh, we’re getting straight to that are we? Good morning to you too brother_ , Keith thought with a roll of his eyes.

“Lance” Keith said with a shrug, trying to keep up the disinterested facade but he really just wanted to throw himself out the window again.

“And Lance is...?” Shiro Probed.

“A florist” Keith said with a smirk knowing the short answers would drive his brother mad. Shiro huffed irritated.

“And you went...?” Shiro tried one last time.

“It was just a date Shiro, it’s no big deal” Keith said crossing his arms, he was ready for the conversation to be over.

“I knew it” Shiro said with a devilish grin, he whipped out his phone and furiously typed a message before stuffing it back in his pocket. Keith stared at him bewildered.

“What..? Who did you just text?” He demanded.

“Allura, she owes me a twenty”

“You bet on my dating life?” Keith shouted incredulously.

“Err...” Shiro hesitated unsure how to play his cards. Suddenly there was loud and impatient knocking on their door.

“Takashi! Let me in right now! I need details!!” A demanding female voice screeched from the other side. The door quivered from the incessant banging.

“I don’t understand, can you guys teleport or something?” Keith groaned as he stretched out on the sofa, he lifted his hands up to cover his face and concluded that this was in fact the worst morning of his life.

Shiro got up suddenly feeling very weary and he opened up the door. Allura burst through the door dramatically; her long white hair pulled up high on her head into a ballerina bun, she was wearing black yoga pants and an over sized cream sweater, her brown leather boots clomped loudly onto the wooden floor as she stopped herself from losing balance after her grand entrance. Her piercing blue eyes scanned the room until she noticed Keith lying on the sofa, eyes still covered.

“You went on a date?!” Keith heard her yell excitedly. He refused to look at her, basking in the darkness his hands provided. He grunted when he felt an additional weight jump on him, his hands were yanked away and pinned above his head and he was suddenly staring up into Allura’s ecstatic face as she hovered above him.

“Who was it with?” She asked, her British accent sounding thicker than usual in her excitement. She was kneeling above Keith; her knees pressing onto his legs holding him down while her hand held his wrist firmly. He squirmed trying to throw her off.

“How are you so strong?” Keith grunted, he could hear Shiro chuckle in the distance.

“You haven’t been on a date in a long time” Allura said softly, a thoughtful look on her face.

“It’s not a big deal it was just dinner” Keith huffed.

“Er wrong, it is a big deal. Now tell us everything” She said finally releasing Keith’s hands. She moved to the other end of the sofa and kicked at his legs so he would stop taking up so much room; he grumbled but sat up and pulled his knees up, he stared at Allura who sat cross legged opposite and at Shiro who was back in his chair looking expectantly.

“Fine” Keith sighed. “What do you want to know?”

“How did you two meet” Shiro asked.

“Do you guys remember Shirley?” Keith asked and both of their faces grew cold; Allura scowled while Shiro nodded.

“Well after the incident I went to find a florist in town because I thought what better way to tell someone ‘fuck you’ than by using the thing they love the most” Keith smirked cruelly. “Well Lance was the only one working that day so he made me the bouquet, it was actually quite beautiful, but he didn’t charge me for it. Something about making his day more interesting.”

He told them everything. How he went back the next day because he felt bad about taking the flowers without paying, how the banshee had apparently screamed at Lance, how Keith took him to his favourite cafe and how they talked for hours. How he had left for work but forgot to tell Lance, how Lance had been trying to find him during that time and finally about the date they had.

Shiro and Allura sat there listening to everything like it was an episode of their favourite drama; Allura would squeal or aw at the parts she found adorable and more than once did she and Shiro share a knowing look. Keith realised pretty early on that he couldn’t successfully tell them everything and look them in the eye.  It was just too embarrassing. So he stared down at his hands, fidgeting and pretended that he was alone and was simply talking out loud. Only when he finished talking was he brave enough to look up at their faces, they were both grinning broadly and Keith felt like he wanted to curl into himself and die.

“Do you like him?” Allura asked, bouncing in her seat and leaning forward eagerly.

“Obviously” Keith said with an eye roll, he wouldn’t have gone on the date otherwise. “He’s sweet and funny and seems to genuinely care about what I say and what I like and yeah, he’s cute” he shrugged.

“Oh my god!!” Allura squealed loudly again “What does he look like?! You never said!”

“I’m sorry but you’ve reach the limit of your daily Keith interaction. Good bye” Keith said standing suddenly and he ran to the door grabbing his boots from last night and a jacket before bolting out the door.

He half ran half jumped down the stairs where he stopped to put his shoes and jacket on before burying his face in his hands waiting for the blush on his face to fade. He didn’t really have a destination in mind but he just couldn’t stand being interrogated anymore; he wasn’t wearing any of his workout clothes so he couldn’t go for a run to clear his head either. With a sigh he resigned himself to wander down the street aimlessly. He walked for about ten minutes before he felt his stomach rumble and with that, an idea occurred to him; he pulled out his phone but hesitated before he typed the message.

_[11:55] McStabbers: Hey_

_[11:57] Cuba libre: I see you didn’t die  
[11:57] Cuba libre: Well done_

_[11:58] McStabbers: Oh. No, I died._  
_[11:58] McStabbers: There’s no way I could have survived that many stabs of embarrassment_  
 _[11:59] McStabbers: I was thinking of going to Bemmy’s to get some lunch...do you want to join?_

Keith held his breath waiting for a response; he realised that he stopped walking as well in anticipation. He stared at the screen analysing his message; did he come on too strong? They just went on a date yesterday and they had plans to meet on Tuesday; would Lance want to meet with him this soon? Keith was never good at interacting with people, it takes a long time for him to trust and befriend people and he’s quick to cut ties the minute they get close to hurting him. He has a very, _very_ small social circle and he definitely isn’t one to text first. So why was he breaking all his rules for Lance?

The three minutes it took Lance to answer were the longest of his life.

_[12:02] Cuba libre: I dunno...  
[12:02] Cuba libre: I’ve never been on a date with a Zombie before..._

_[12:03] McStabbers: Really? You seem like the type to go out with anything that moves_

_[12:04] Cuba libre: Fuck you zombie Keith!  
[12:05] Cuba libre: I’ll meet you at Bemmy’s in 10_

Keith sighed in relief at Lance’s message and then grinned broadly feeling both nervous and excited. He turned a street corner and headed in the direction of the cafe, he recognised where he was and knew it would only take him ten minutes tops to get there. He caught his reflection on a car window and stopped short in shock; he looked an absolute mess! Why didn’t he pay attention to what he looked like before he asked out Lance?! His eyes had dark circles under them, his hair was a mess and he was clad in nothing but an oversized white t-shirt and black under shorts that were just about visible bellow the tops hem; with his combat boots and leather jacket he was 100% it was the weirdest combination of clothing he had ever worn.

He wanted to run home and change but he knew if he went back he’d just get ambushed again and he didn’t have the guts to cancel on Lance. _You’re just going to have to meet the guy you like in your pyjamas Keith, this is your life now._ He sighed pulled his hair up into a ponytail to make it appear semi decent and continued on his way.

Lance was standing outside the cafe, phone in hand while he waited. He noticed Keith walking up towards him and appraised his outfit with an eyebrow raised; his eyes lingering on Keith’s legs longer than truly necessary.

“Nice outfit” Lance said with a flirty grin. Keith flushed red and crossed his arms defensively.

“Fuck off” Keith grumbled. “I ran out the house before I could change, I just wanted to get away from my brother and his girlfriend as quick as possible”

“It suits you” Lance said looking Keith up and down once gain.

“Thanks” Keith murmured blushing even deeper than before. Lance winked then gestured for Keith to enter first before following and he silently thanked the stars that Shiro had decided to ambush Keith as he watched him walk down the steps.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited for October (obviously because of season 4) but also because I going to comic-con London! Is anyone else going?!


	11. Ohmygosh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooooo! So sorry for the delay but hopefully this chapter makes up for it and also for the news I'm about to break to you...  
> So depression hit again yaaaayyyyyy and I just started my final year of uni so even more yaaaaaayyyyy! Anyhoo I don't know how much uni will affect me but I'm gonna guess A LOT and that sucks and I'm sorry!  
> So I'm thinking I still want to upload weekly because I will help me de-stress and while I can't guarantee it being a full chapter I will upload either some filler chapters like text conversations between Lance's bitches etc or I can upload a drawing I've done for this fic  
> VOTE IN THE COMMENTS WHICH YOU WOULD RATHER!
> 
> And now for the chapter:

They left the coffee shop late afternoon and the weather had taken a turn for the worst. No longer was the sun shining; instead, dark heavy clouds had spread across the sky eliminating all signs of blue. The wind had picked up and was slowly pushing the leaves and debris along the street; Lance pulled his coat closer around him feeling the chill in his chest already, even Keith, who rarely got cold, could feel the goose bumps slowly rinsing up on his legs (but to be fair no-body claimed that under shorts were adequate for this kind of weather).

“Looks like it’s gonna rain” Lance said, glaring up at the clouds suspiciously, as they walked down the street.

“I’m not too worried” Keith said with a shrug, “It was like this at one point yesterday and it turned out to be a nice evening” A r _eally nice evening,_ he thought glancing up at Lance.

“I hope you’re right” Lance said, smiling fondly back at him.

As soon as the words left his mouth the heavens opened. The rain battered down, hard and relentless; there was no warning, no light sprinkle just an absolute downpour. They stood still for a split second in shock before running down the street pulling their jackets over their heads.

“You were wrong!” Lance called over to Keith laughing. He grabbed Keith’s hand and led him down a street before shoving them both under an archway door.

“Do me a favour, don’t become a meteorologist” Lance chuckled as he bent over breathing heavily.

The sudden sound of Keith’s laugh had Lance standing upright in an instant; Lance stared as Keith clutched his sides, his body shaking as the sound of unabashed joy escaped his lips, the movement caused droplets of water to fly from his hair and some to roll down his face, his cheeks were flushed pink and his shirt was soaked through and clinging onto his body. In that moment only one word was on Lance’s mind; _perfect._

Keith’s laughter died down to a chuckle and he grinned up at Lance; his eyes crinkled at the edges and Lance smiled warmly before taking a step towards him. He reached out a hand and gently moved the hair out of Keith’s eyes before moving his hand to cup the side of his face, thumb gently stroking his cheek.

Keith was entranced, unable to look away from the deep blue of Lance’s eyes; he felt Lance place his other hand on his waist, pulling him closer and he clutched the bottom of Lance’s shirt as his chin was tilted up. Lance’s eyes flickered down to his lips and Keith licked them in nervous anticipation; Lance smiled before he closed his eyes and slowly leant in.

His lips were cold and wet from the rain but they were soft and chased away the chill as Keith felt his whole body heat up. The noise of the rain faded away and the wind never seemed to touch them; they were swept up into their own world where the only sound was their breathing and the only thing they could feel was the warmth of each other.

Keith didn’t want the moment to end. Slowly he trailed his hands up Lance’s chest, marvelling at the feel, and hooked his arms around his neck; pulling lance closer and deepening the kiss. Lance responded instantly; his lips moving eagerly over Keith’s. Lance shifted his hand on Keith’s waist to his lower back, the movement caused Keith’s cold wet top to press against his back. Keith pulled back with a gasp and shivered violently at the sudden ice touch on his heated skin. They were instantly snapped back into reality; the rain was deafening and the wind cut straight through them.

“Oh shit, Keith! You must be freezing!” Lance said, his voice raspy, he pulled Keith into a hug and rubbed his arms in an attempt to warm him up.

“I’m fine” Keith mumbled, a small smile played on his lips. Lance stuck his head out from under the arch and looked down the street; calculating.

“I don’t live too far from here” Lance said lift Keith’s head up to look into his eyes, “You okay to run in the rain again?”

Keith nodded, not trusting his voice; Lance smiled and kissed him on the forehead before stepping away and grabbing hold of Keith’s hand. They counted down from three and then they were running down the street once more; Lance leading the way with Keith in tow. Their boots hit the pavement hard, flicking up water and splashing in puddles as they made their way down one street and then another.

They passed a few people who had braved the weather with their umbrellas and received many quizzical looks as they flew by. The tuts and looks they left it their wake caused them to burst out into laughter as they hurled themselves down the final few streets; even more people were openly gawking at the loud couple but that only fuelled them more.

When they finally got to Lance’s building he hastily unlocked the main door and pulled Keith into the warm lobby. Keith tripped over his feet as he hurried in they both laughed and joked as they ran up the stairs to the apartment, Keith made sure to shake his soaking hair and spray Lance with flying droplets. They stopped in front of the door and Lance led them in; taking off his jacket and hanging it up by the door, kicking off his shoes in the process.

Keith followed him in and looked around in awe. He walked into a large open space; to the left of the door there was an old mahogany desk littered with letters and papers and on the wall above it hung a large vintage world map covered in red and green pins. The far left wall had two large bay windows; one by the desk and the other further along the room, the second one had been converted into a window seat and sat as part of the living room. Two sofas were positioned both perpendicular and parallel to the window creating a cosy semi enclosed space; there was a tv mounted on the wall with a unit underneath that housed a multitude of gaming devices. From where he stood Keith could see the kitchen island and the edge of the kitchen just around the corner.

Lance leant against the wall and watched as Keith pulled his boots off and hung his jacket; water dripped off his hair and face and splashed onto the hardwood floor. Lance smiled as Keith’s eyes wander around the room before he pushed himself off the wall and indicated that Keith should follow him around the corner.

“C’mon, let’s get you out of your clothes” Lance said.

“I...What?” Keith said his steps faltering as he stared at Lance in shock. Lance turned around at looked at Keith confused.

“Well we can’t have you dripping everywhere, you’re soaked you’ll get a cold. I’ve got some sweats you can borrow and you can use the shower” Lance watched Keith let out a sigh of relief and relax and suddenly it clicked.

“Oh my god! I just realised what that sounded like!” Lance’s face exploded with colour and he buried his head in his hands. Keith laughed at Lance’s discomfort; Lance just groaned loudly, turned and walked towards his room with Keith following.

Lance’s room was surprisingly tidy, immaculate compared to Keith’s (he hadn’t put all the clothes he had pulled out for date back yet). The walls were a pale cream with a feature wall coloured a deep teal; up against that wall was a large double bed with white sheets and a large grey knitted throw placed along the foot of it.  Two dark wooden bedside tables were positioned on either side; covered in an assortment of picture frames and books. A laundry basket sat over flowing and a large floor to ceiling wardrobe stretched across the entire wall opposite to the bed; the doors were rolled open and Keith caught a glance of Lance’s extensive collection of clothes.

Lance couldn’t bring himself to look at Keith as he pulled some clothes out of the closet and handed it to him.

“The bathroom is just opposite; feel free to use anything in there.” Lance said with an awkward cough. Keith took the clothes and turned towards the bathroom; he looked back at Lance and winked before closing the door.

 _Oh my lord he’s going to be the death of me!_ Lance thought as he buried his head in his hand. He wandered back into his room and stripped out of his soaked clothes, he pulled on a fresh pair of boxers before he flopped back onto the bed. He heard the shower turn on and sighed heavily as he stared up at the ceiling.

He couldn’t believe he kissed _Keith_! And Keith kissed him _back_! It took everything in his power not to squeal excitedly at the thought (he would never hear the end of it) but he did hug himself tightly and kick his legs about it glee. He took a deep breath to steady himself; he tried not to think about the man in his shower or how he managed to embarrass himself in front of said man and concentrated on getting changed.

He padded out of his bedroom in his blue lion slippers, black sweats and a large ‘Best Bi’ sweatshirt and made his way to the kitchen. He put some water on to boil and went about making him and his guest some hot chocolate; he added powder and mini marshmallows into each mug before stirring in some milk to get rid of any clumps, he then topped it with the hot water, squirted whipped cream and added more marshmallows.

He heard the bathroom door open and turned when the footsteps stopped near him. Keith was in a white long sleeve top and a pair of grey sweat pants that were too long and pooled around his feet; he had the towel he used over his head but his fringe was still dripping. Keith thanked Lance as he was offered one of the beverages and followed him into the living room. He took a seat on the sofa perpendicular to the window and Lance sat down on the window seat; his back against the edge and stared out to the rain.

“I don’t think this rain is gonna let up anytime soon” Lance said, turning his head to look at Keith. Keith shrugged and rested his mug on his knee.

“It’s alright, rain never killed me” He said nonchalantly. Lance looked aghast and Keith tried hard not to laugh at his expression.

“Sorry but I cannot allow you to walk home in the rain!” Lance said still shocked that Keith would even think to suggest that.

“It’s no big deal” Keith said drinking from his mug and licking off the cream that clung to his lips.

“A gentleman must never let his date go out in such unfavourable weather” Lance said in a mock royal voice; Keith snorted and Lance pursed his lips in thought.

“A taxi will cost you an arm and a leg because they think you’d pay rather than walk in the rain” Lance said and Keith couldn’t argue with that because he knew it was more than true. “So you can just stay the night!”

“What?” Keith said, eyeing Lance up like he was crazy.

“Yeah! That sofa pulls out into a bed and in here-“ He tapped the bench he was sitting on, “I have spare duvets and sheets”

“Are you sure?” Keith asked sceptically.

“Positive, we can walk to work together in the morning” Lance said with a large a grin.

“Alright, I’ll stay” Keith said smiling back.

“Awesome! Now let’s order some dinner because I’m starved!” Lance said as he jumped up from his seat and held out a hand for Keith, “Chinese okay?”

“Perfect” Keith said taking Lance’s hand in his.

* * *

 

“I have a question” Lance said.

Keith turned his head to look at Lance. They were both sat on the floor of the living with empty takeaway boxes littered around them; Lance was reaching out to grab another spring roll when he spoke. Keith lifted some more noodles to his mouth but nodded for Lance to continue.

“You’re like, super pale” Lance started to say when Keith snorted and swallowed the mouthful he had.

“A solid observation” He said chuckling.

“But you also have a slight southern twang” Lance said ignoring Keith’s snark but sticking his tongue out at him anyway. “You also said y’all at one point and it was adorable; like hearing a Canadian say eh”

Keith rolled his eyes and smirked, “And your question is?”

“Right so my question is: what’s up with that?” Lance said stuffing the roll into his mouth and Keith laughed at his bluntness.

“I know that we haven’t really spoken about your family, except for Shiro, so feel free to tell me to fuck off if you don’t want to talk about it” Lance said with a smile.

“Nah it’s fine” Keith said with his own reassuring smile, “Well I am from the South, though my mother was Korean hence the pale skin I guess and I lived there until the age of six so the accent was pretty engrained in me” He explained.

“Why did you move?” Lance asked.

“My mother passed away when I was four and I guess it got too much for my father to bear after a while, so we moved here” Keith said with sad eyes, Lance smiled apologetically at Keith.

“Is that when your dad met Shiro’s mum?” Lance asked softly.

“Yeah, though they only had a year together before he was deployed and unfortunately lost his life. She took me in even though she didn’t have to and I loved her to bits” Keith smiled softly at the memories he was recalling and Lance sat there silently allowing Keith to tell his story.

“Life has a cruel sense of humour however and she passed away from cancer a few years later” Keith’s smiled soured but he kept talking. “Fortunately Shiro was twenty-one when she passed and so he took me in and we stuck together ever since”

“I owe Shiro so much; he never once gave up on me even when I became a rebellious brat and constantly got into trouble, he always seemed to believe in me.” Keith spoke lovingly about his brother and stared off into the distance. Lance sat there desperately tiring not to cry but he couldn’t help it and sniffed loudly; the sound caused Keith to snap back to reality and he stared at Lance in alarm.

“Lance? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Keith said concerned, his hand fluttered in the air as he looked around unsure how to help.

“It’s fine...I’m fine!” Lance squeaked; he cringed then coughed loudly and put on a deep voice as he tried to speak again “It’s just what happened to you was so unfair and you spoke so beautifully about Shiro and...”

Lance’s voice cracked again and he fanned his eyes furiously trying to dry the tears that threatened to spill. Keith stared at Lance in shock; he hadn’t told that story to many people before but when he has he’s never received a reaction as strong as Lance’s. Watching Lance made his heart swell and it was an unfamiliar feeling, very few people have cared about him and right now it felt like Lance cared; _really_ cared and he didn’t know how to handle it.

Keith slowly got up, not really knowing what he was going to do and made his way towards Lance. He sat down next to him and tentatively placed his head on Lance’s shoulder, we wasn’t sure how to comfort Lance and he wasn’t sure what he wanted but he wanted something. Lance gasped slightly when he felt Keith’s head and hesitated for a second before he shifted slightly and put his arm around Keith to pull him closer.

They sat there for a while in comfortable silence; relishing each other’s company. The minute Keith felt Lance’s arm wrap around him it felt like a massive check box had been ticked; _this_ , this is the thing he didn’t know he wanted. He felt comfortable and weirdly he felt safe; it was nice. He felt Lance shift under him and looked up to see Lance looking rather nervous.

“Hey Keith?” Lance said softly. Keith sat up and turned to look at Lance curiously.

“Yeah?”

“Would you..? Er...do you...?” Lance rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly; he closed his eyes and tried again. “Do you want to go out?” He blurted out.

Keith cocked his head to the side in confusion. “Aren’t we going out on Tuesday?”

“No I mean like” Lance took a deep breath “Do you want to be in a relationship? Do you want to be my boyfriend?”

Keith’s eyebrows shot up into his hair line and Lance held his breath as he waited for Keith to speak. The seconds felt like hours and Lance started to panic; _What if it’s too soon? What if Keith isn’t interested? Did he just put his foot in it?_ He just wanted to crawl into a hole and die. His fear must have been showing because Keith suddenly shook his head slightly as if he was snapping himself out of his internal thoughts and grinned brightly.

“Yes” Keith answered.

“Yes?” Lance asked tentatively

“Yes” Keith confirmed.

“Ohmygosh” Lance gushed happily “Ohmygosh”

He launched himself at Keith and hugged him tightly; Keith struggled not to fall over and laughed happily at Lance’s reaction and because of the sudden excitement and joy he felt running through his veins. Lance pulled himself away slightly and chuckled before grinning beautifully at Keith; Keith grinned back and felt giddy as he kissed Lance once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that satisfied your hunger you animals! lol  
> Remember to let me know what you would like to see me upload weekly while I continue to work on the story!  
> Love you guys, wish me luck for uni! xxx


	12. Morning Coffee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I'm back! Did you miss me?  
> This chapter isn't overly long but it's written and I count that as a win lol
> 
> I missed you guys, I missed talking to you in the comments. If you guys wanna chat or ask question or even if you have ideas for what you'd love to happen in this fic send me a message on tumblr I love to hear from you! (It'll save me from going crazy haha)  
> Speaking of tumblr last weeks update were some pictures click [Here](https://teawiththehatter-posts.tumblr.com/tagged/my-art)  to get onto my art tag :)
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoy this! Thank you for all your support and patience xxx

Lance’s blinds were shit. _Sweet baby Jesus! That sun is bright and annoying!_ Keith tried to stretch his legs out but found them entangled in a white sheet and he was unable to move; a sign of a bad night’s rest but he didn’t remember dreaming about anything. _A dream forgotten is better than a nightmare remembered I guess_ ; he thought to himself. He dragged his hands over his eyes, dislodging the sleep that had formed in the corners and then looked at his phone.

It was six thirty; only half an hour before his usual wake up time. He laid back down and contemplated if it was worth trying to get a few extra minutes of sleep of if he should just start the day. The apartment was quiet and his ears quickly picked up the sound the sound of the shower accompanied with some soft humming; almost as soon as he heard it the water shut off but the voice kept going. The bathroom door opened and the hummed tune became clearer, it wasn’t a song that Keith recognised but it sounded soothing, it became muffled again as the door to Lance’s room shut with a click.

Keith kicked the sheets off his legs and slowly rolled off the bed; he stretched slowly and sighed when his joints popped. He arranged the sheets and pillows he used into a nice neat pile on the bed and wandered into the kitchen. He noted the coffee machine sitting on the side and began opening Lance’s cupboards in the search for some coffee; he promptly found a bag of ground beans from Guatemala. He turned the bag over curiously, he didn’t think that he had ever tried this kind before, he opened the bag and breathed in the delicious earthy smell and he was suddenly incredibly excited for his morning coffee. When the brew was done he poured it into two large mugs; he knew that Lance adored lattes but this coffee seemed too good to taint with milk so he simply clicked in a sweetener and took the two mugs to Lance’s room.

“Come in” Lance called after Keith used his elbow to knock on the door. Keith walked into the room and stared around in confusion.

“Aw Keith you’re a babe!” Lance said taking the mug from Keith’s hand, he took a big sip and went back to pondering his situation.

Keith took a sip out of his own mug and stared around the room silently. Piles of clothes were scattered about the room; a large pile sat on the floor and he reckoned that was a discard pile judging by the way Lance would pick up a piece of clothing, examine it before throwing it down on it.

“What are you doing?” Keith asked, drinking more of his coffee.

“I’m trying to find the perfect outfit” Lance mumbled throwing more things onto the discard pile. Keith turned to look Lance up and down; he was wearing black skinny jeans and a grey cable knit jumper.

“But you look good” He said, Lance grinned and winked at him.

“Thanks, but the outfit is for you” Lance said moving to look through tops.

“What?” Keith said look at Lance in confusion.

“Well I can’t let you go to working in your flirty shorts and you’ll trip over if you wear those” Lance said gesturing to the sweatpants that Keith clad. Keith looked down at himself and kicked at the material that consumed his foot and realised that Lance was right but he didn’t want to admit it.

“It’s not that bad” He said rather unconvincingly. Lance snorted and threw a bottle green top towards him, Keith just about caught it but nearly spilt his coffee; he glared at Lance but he just laughed.

“I think that top would look good on you but the issue lays with the trousers” Lance hummed placing a hand on his chin as he stared thoughtfully at the arrangement on his bed. “Oh the woes of being the tall, not that you would know”

“Fuck off I’m not that short” Keith growled, Lance laughed then walked up to him and kissed his forehead.

“Hmmm I suppose not” Lance said walking to his wardrobe, “But my legs are a lot longer”

Keith couldn’t argue with that, despite the fact that he very much wanted to because the evidence he was wearing was all too clear. He turned when he heard Lance exclaim a little ah-ha! and saw him pull something out from the very back of his wardrobe. He turned with a triumphant smile and held up a pair of black dungarees.

“I knew I’d fine something eventually!” He sang happily “These are too short for me, they should fit you even if you have to roll them up a little”

Keith eyed the trousers and then looked up at Lance hoping he was joking. “You can’t be serious”

“What’s wrong with them?” Lance asked, frowning as he inspected them.

“They’re dungarees” Keith said as if the answer was obvious.

“Yeah I know; I bought them” Lance said putting a hand on his hip.

“I’ve never worn them before; I’ll look like a child” Keith said stubbornly.

“What?! No way! You’d look totally hot!” Lance said, offended that Keith would even think that but Keith just crossed his arms and remained unconvinced. “C’mon just wear the outfit, it’s not like you have much of an alternative anyway”

Keith held his ground for another second or two before sighing and holding his hand out for the trousers. Lance beamed and passed him the piece of clothing.

“Great! Pass me the mugs; I’ll top us up and make some breakfast while you get ready” Keith turned to pick up the mugs on the bedside table and gave them to Lance. “Don’t dawdle too much;, we have to get going soon”

A short while later and Keith came out (rather begrudgingly) to the kitchen. Lance had refilled their mugs and had made them both some cream cheese bagels; he was happily munching away as he sat at his kitchen island. His eyes widened slightly as he watched Keith make his way to the coffee mug and swallowed his bite down quickly.

“I was right” Lance grinned “You do look hot”

Keith flushed and took a sip of his coffee trying his hardest to avoid eye contact with Lance’s intense gaze.

Spending the morning sitting and having breakfast in his boyfriends _(the fact that he had a boyfriend still hadn’t fully registered yet)_ apartment and wearing his clothes felt very surreal. Now he was walking down the street hand in hand, laughing and joking as they made their way to the shop; the whole situation felt domestic and that was unusual, unknown but not unwanted. They slowed as they got to the shop entrance; Lance turned to Keith, with his back to the door and grinned broadly.

“We still good for tomorrow?” He asked; swinging their hands slightly.

“Of course” Keith said; a soft smile on his face. Lance’s smile brightened and he let go of Keith’s hand to pull him in close by his waist; Keith put his arms round Lance’s neck and lifted himself slightly to press his lips against Lance’s.

Their kiss was short and sweet and when they pulled apart Lance squeezed Keith’s hips affectionately before they said their goodbyes. Lance sighed happily and unlocked the grate and door; he had barely been in the shop for ten minutes when the door crashed open again.

“Lance!!” Hunks voice boomed with a mix of excitement and urgency. Lance screamed and dropped the vase he was carrying out to put on the window; it shattered around his feet.

“Meirda” Lance muttered as he tentatively stepped out of the glassy puddle, “Hunk what the fuck?!”

“You and Keith! Kissing! He was in your clothes!” Hunk spluttered out, Lance just stared at him in shock before shaking his head.

“Okay one: how did you know they were my clothes?” He said listing the things off with his fingers, “and two: what are you? A stalker?”

“Dude you always drag me on your shopping trips so I’m pretty sure I have a mental catalogue of all your clothes” Hunk said

“I don’t drag you” Lance muttered “Besides I always buy you lunch”

“And I appreciate it” Hunk said chuckling “Also I saw you as I was walking up the street, though I will admit that I took a picture and sent it to-“

At that moment the door slammed open again and Pidge came flying in; she was in star wars pyjamas, with impressive bed head and her glasses were askew.

“Jesus Christ, you guys are gonna owe me a new door soon” Lance mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose in distress.

“You slept with Keith?!” Pidge shrieked about to make her way towards Lance before Hunk put his arm across her chest to stop her.

“Careful Pidge there’s glass” Hunk said pointing at the mess on the floor.

“What the hell?” She muttered before turning her attention to Lance again and pointed a finger at him “I told you to kiss him not screw him!”

“Wow okay would you two care to hop off the assumption train you boarded?” Lance said crossing his arms. “Besides I doubt Keith is the type to go all the way on the first kiss”

“But you are right?” Pidge sneered and Lance glared at her.

“No comment” He huffed while she snickered in response.

“We met yesterday and got caught in the rain, so he came to mine; we ordered food, he slept on the sofa bed and I lent him some clothes. That’s it; nothing major happened” Lance said but then he smiled smugly “Well we did kiss and are official now so I guess something happened”

“That’s awesome dude!” Hunk said leaning over the puddle to give Lance a high five.

“All I got from that story is that you admitted to being a slut” Pidge said with a grin.

“I’m a fucking Queen Pidge” Lance retorted with hair flick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may or may not be wondering where a certain gorgeous man is; don't worry he'll make an appearance soon enough. Also the next few chapters are going to consist of some awkward introductions to nosy friends lol
> 
> Season 4!!!! I know there's mixed opinions but I quite liked it :)


	13. Young Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's officially Keith's birthday! (In England anyway) but kinda not I guess because it has been confirmed but...TO THE FANDOM IT'S OFFICIALLY KEITH'S BIRTHDAY!
> 
> THE GORGEOUS MAN IS HERE!  
> This chapter is split into a bit of Keith and a bit of Lance and unfortunately it's a bit short but don't worry in the next chapter we'll get to the good stuff :)

Keith sat in his office working through the latest document that was placed on his desk. Papers, pens and markers were scattered all over it; rings from various coffee mugs had stained the dark wood but surprisingly the rest of the room was immaculate. A large book shelf filled with a multitude of text books, reports and thesis’ was placed against the wall perpendicular to the desk; all of the documents had been read through numerous times and were over flowing with coloured tags. In the far left corner a soft arm chair sat with a small side table and a tall reading lamp situated next to it; the walls were a soft cream except for the one opposite the desk with was exposed brick. There was a large window behind Keith; illuminating his workspace with little glare, the view wasn’t over impressive so he wasn’t too bothered that he wasn’t looking out of it every day.

A soft knock broke through his concentration; he looked up from his work and beckoned the visitor in. He rolled his neck and stretched as the door opened and his supervisor walked in; he had bright ginger hair and an equally bright moustache that curled impressively at the ends. He was wearing green-brown tweed trousers and a matching waistcoat; the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to the elbow and as he walked flashes of bright pink could be seen between his trouser legs and his brown brogues.

“Hey Coran, what’s up?” Keith asked as he watched the older man make his way to the finished pile of documents that sat on the corner of his desk, ready for collection.

Keith had been working with Coran for the past few years now and welcomed the man’s company. He was wise and knowledgeable; always eager to share his thoughts and engage in debates and well talk in general. He was quite eccentric and it took Keith a while to adjust to the man’s bubbly and ‘very _there_ ’ personality but now Coran was a very welcomed addition into his life. The fact that he was related to Allura meant Keith spent a lot of time with him and Coran was slowly teetering on the edge between friend and adopted favourite uncle.

“Oh not much” Coran said; his New Zealand accent sounding stronger than Keith had remembered it. His dark blue eyes suddenly flashed knowingly and he twirled his moustache deviously “Though I have been meaning to ask you if you’ve been okay recently”

“What do you mean?” Keith asked wearily.

“Well Linda said she was on the verge of fainting” another sly smile “Because you smiled at her yesterday at lunch”

“Wait? What?” Keith said confused and surprised.

“And George swore he heard you humming to yourself” Coran continued watching in amusement as Keith’s face flushed. “So I’m wondering; what’s made you so happy recently”

“That makes it sound like I’m a miserable dick all the time” Keith mumbled, still working on reducing his blush.

“Not a miserable dick” Coran said laughing “Just a quiet introvert”

Keith grumbled trying desperately to look anywhere but directly into Coran’s eyes; knowing full well he wouldn’t be able to hold a secret if he did. He settled for staring at the fluffy cushion that lay on the arm chair but he noticed out of the corner of his eye Coran slowly raise an eyebrow and give him a knowing smirk.

“Could it perhaps be a boy?” Coran said with a wiggle of his eye brows and Keith sputtered; his face blowing up in colour. Coran laughed heartedly as he watched Keith bury his face in his arms.

“Ah, young love; I remember when-“ Coran began to wistfully recall his romantic endeavours and Keith tried desperately to tune him out as he slowly banged his head against the desk. He was never going to live this down; Coran would make sure he spent the rest of his life answering (read: dodging) all and any love interrogations that would come his way. Keith groaned as he listened to Coran talk about his adventure with Pricilla who had ‘legs for days’.

* * *

 

It was rather slow for a Saturday; the hot sun was making it unbearable for people to simply walk down the street. Not that anyone was complaining; it meant that they didn’t have to walk around working and could simply sit in the A/C and enjoy each other’s company. Hunk was standing by his workbench doodling on a piece of paper as he spoke to Pidge about her project; giving her suggestions and listening excitedly as she explained her theories. Pidge was sitting cross-legged on the bench talking excitedly and eating the cookies Hunk had made for them out of the tub. Lance was tidying up the flowers on one of the shelves when the door bell rang and a brown curly haired boy walked in holding a stack of leaflets. He was about ten years old and was wearing a scout’s uniform; when Lance noticed him he grinned widely at the boy.

“Hiya Nathan! How are you today?” Lance asked the boy as he wiped his hands on his apron.

“Hi Mr McClain!” Nathan said beaming up at Lance.

“How many times do I have to remind you to call me Lance? Mr McClain makes me sound old” Lance complained with a chuckle.

“Sorry” Nathan said with a shy laugh; he turned when he heard two more voices laughing and saw Hunk and Pidge grinning at him.

“Hey Nathan, do you want a peanut butter cookie?” Pidge asked holding out a tub of Hunk’s famous cookies.

“Oh yes please” Nathan said; walking up to them shifting the stack he held so he could reach out and grab one.

“So what can we do for you?” Hunk asked smiling as Nathan struggled to bite the cookie without dropping everything.

“I was wondering if I could leave some of these leaflets in your shop” Nathan said mumbling around a mouthful of cookie.

“The scouts are in charge of distributing them” He said proudly; his brown eyes shimmered excitedly and he puffed his chest out.

“Of course! Leave a pile on my bench” Lance said happily “I’ll even stick one on my window, how does that sound?”

“Thanks Mr Lance!” Nathan said putting some of the stack on the desk and turning to grin at the older man, Lance chuckled at the name.

“Now you best get going” Lance said; Nathan nodded and headed towards the door. “Be safe! And tell your mum she’s raised the perfect little gentleman!”

Nathan flushed at the compliment; the freckles across his nose getting darker and he waved at the trio before leaving the shop. They watched as he skipped down the road all with a fond smile on their faces. Nathan first walked into the shop 2 years ago; a little 8 year old holding a purse full of coins with bright eyes, untamed hair and missing teeth as he asked for a single red rose.

“Of course little buddy, who’s the flower for?” Lance had asked as he walked over to the pot of roses so the boy could pick the one he wanted.

“My mum! She’s the best!” He said grinning, “But she’s been sad this week so I want to make her happy! I saved all my pocket money to get her favourite”

Lance stared at the little boy in awe like he was the epitome of innocence and goodness. He reminded Lance of his nephew and he wanted to give a hug but of course he didn’t because he’s not a weirdo that goes around hugging kids; instead he gave him a big teary eyed grin.

“Well in that case why don’t we give her a bouquet? What colour does she like?”

That’s how they met Nathan and every mother’s day and birthday since he was back in the shop with a purse full of coins and a heart of gold. Of course they gave him more flowers than he could afford, Hunk would always make sure he had cookies and treats to offer and they would talk about school and his mum. They even had the honour to meet his mum, Lynette, when he started going to scouts and wanted to share with them the good news and they saw a lot more of them after that as Nathan carried scout tasks and distributed leaflets or invited them to events.

“Bless his cotton socks” Lance said with a happy sigh.

“You could use some pointers from Nathan about how to be a perfect gentleman” Pidge said as she wrote something down on the paper Hunk was doodling on.

“Are you saying that my mother failed?” Lance said clutching his heart in offense.

“She tried” Pidge smirked looking back at Lance from over her shoulder.

“Why’ve you gotta hurt me this way Pidge” Lance muttered walking over to his bench to look at the leaflets Nathan had left behind.

Lance picked one of the sheets up and gasped so loudly it made Hunk and Pidge jump before he turned and shoved the piece of paper under their noses.

“Can we go? Can we go please?” Lance asked practically bouncing as the other two cautiously looked over the leaflet.

“A fair, really?” Pidge questioned; she and Hunk shared an uneasy look.

“Yeah dude, you know I can’t stomach the rides” Hunk said pushing the leaflet away from them.

“And those games are always rigged” Pidge added, taking another cookie from the tub.

“C’mon Hunk I know you love all the food they offer and it looks like they have dodgems; I know you like them” Lance continued undeterred by their protests “And yeah they’re rigged but that just means you get to use your super smart brain to outwit them; think of it as a puzzle”

The two in question pursed their lips in consideration; each one weighing up the pros and cons. They looked at each-other and seemed to have some sort of telepathic communication before nodding and turning back to Lance.

“Okay fine but on one condition” Pidge said crossing her arms.

“Sure, anything.” Lance said eagerly.

“You bring Keith along” Hunk said; both of them grinning deviously “It’s time we were introduced to your lover boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because it's a blessed day have a double whammy!  
> I drew
> 
> [Keith's outfit](https://teawiththehatter-posts.tumblr.com/post/166689692979/its-a-blessed-keith-day-so-here-have-a-chapter)
> 
> the one Lance dressed him in.
> 
> Also you'll be spoilt this week because I'll be posting a drawing of a scene that you had been dying for lol also maybe a chapter...


	14. Stop! Filler time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my precious flowers I hope you're all doing well! This week was a lot busier than I was expecting it to be; uni got a bit hectic and I had some last minute costume amendments to do for Comicon London this Saturday (Let me know if you're going! I'm so excited!)
> 
> So unfortunately this weeks updates consists of a mini filler chapter; it's literally just random text conversations I envision them to have lolI'll probably upload some drawings over the weekend as well :)
> 
> Let me know what you think about this; if it flops I won't bother with any more fillers so be honest!

**[Group Chat] Lance’s Bitches**

**_[03:05] Pidgeon:_ ** _Guys I have a problem_

**_[03:06] Lancey Lance:_ ** _Katie I swear to GOD if this is a maths question I already told you to message Hunk and leave me out of it_

**_[03:06] Hunk of love:_ ** _Pidge what’s wrong?_

**_[03:06] Pidgeon:_ ** _I’m locked out_

**_[03:07] Lancey Lance:_ ** _Problem: you’re an idiot  
**[03:07] Lancey Lance:** Solution: brain transplant_

**_[03:08] Hunk of love:_ ** _A brain transplant will be highly unlikely to succeed_

**_[03:08] Pidgeon:_ ** _Yeah I’d probably just die_

**_[03:09] Lancey Lance:_ ** _Either way you’d stop being an idiot so I stick my solution_

**_[03:09] Pidgeon:_ ** _You’re a dick  
**[03:10] Pidgeon:** I hate you_

**_[03:11] Lancey Lance:_ ** _Only 50% of that statement is true_

**_[03:11] Pidgeon:_ ** _That fact that I hate you is true_

**_[03:13] Lancey Lance:_ ** _Then that means I’m not a dick and you have no reason to hate me_

**_[03:14] Pidgeon:_ ** _But why would I love you if you’re a dick_

**_[03:15] Lancey Lance:_ ** _I don’t know you’re the one that loves me lol_

**_[03:15] Pidgeon:_ ** _You fucker_

**_[03:16] Lancey Lance:_ ** _Hey you’re the one who woke us up at stupid o clock and you need our help  
**[03:16] Lancey Lance:** So I suggest you play nice_

**_[03:16] Hunk of love:_ ** _Hey has a point Pidge_

**_[03:17] Pidgeon:_** _UUURRRRGGGHHHHH_  
**[03:17] Pidgeon:** Fine  
**[03:18] Pidgeon:** Can I please get my spare key off one of you?  
**[03:21] Pidgeon:** GUYS!!

 ** _[03:21] Lancey Lance:_** _No can do baby doll_  
**[03:21] Lancey Lance:** You took them off us  
**[03:22] Lancey Lance:** Something about no longer trusting us around Doritos

**_[03:25] Pidgeon:_ ** _You scum bags ate all of my cool ranch Doritos!  
**[03:25] Pidgeon:** All 4 bags!_

**_[03:27] Lancey Lance:_ ** _Worth it  
**[03:27] Lancey Lance:** But yeah sorry no key_

**_[03:28] Pidgeon:_ ** _This is the worst_

**_[03:30] Lancey Lance:_** _No you know that’s the worst?_  
**[03:30] Lancey Lance:** The fact that Hunk has managed to fall back to sleep and has left me to deal with you alone!  
**[03:30] Lancey Lance:** Wake.  
**[03:31] Lancey Lance:** Up.  
**[03:31] Lancey Lance:** You.  
**[03:31] Lancey Lance:** Bastard!

**_[03:31] Pidgeon:_ ** _This is going to end badly..._

**_[03:32] Lancey Lance:_ ** _WAKE UP!!!_

**_[03:32] Hunk of Love:_ ** _If you keep me up one more time with your infernal messages I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish! – Shay xx_

**_[Hunk of Love left Lance’s Bitches]_ **

**_[03:34] Lancey Lance:_ ** _Oh shit_

**_[03:35] Pidgeon:_ ** _Now you’ve done it  
**[03:35] Pidgeon:** So...about my problem..._

**_[03:36] Lancey Lance:_ ** _Just come to mine Pidge  
**[03:36] Lancey Lance:** You can call the landlord tomorrow morning_

**_[03:37] Pidegon:_ ** _You sure?_

**_[03:37] Lancey Lance:_ ** _Yeah course_

**_[03:38] Pidgeon:_ ** _Okay good cos I’m outside_

**_[03:38] Lancey Lance:_ ** _Asdfghjkl!_

* * *

 

 

 

**_[14:15] Lil Bro:_ ** _Do you think snakes look at lizards and get jealous?_

**_[14:20] My best friend in the whole world:_ ** _Keith...are you high?_

**_[14:21] Lil Bro:_ ** _God I wish  
**[14:21] Lil Bro:** Fuck you Shiro when did you change your contact name_

**_[14:23] Shito:_** _About time you realised I did that_  
**[14:23] Shito:** I changed it ages ago, proof of how LITTLE you text me!  
**[14:24] Shito:** I’m your brother Keith! I deserve better than this!

**_[14:25] Lil Bro:_ ** _I’m gonna to tell Allura what you had her saved under when you started going out..._

**_[14:26] Shito:_ ** _...  
**[14:26] Shito:** So jealous snakes huh?_

**_[14:27] Lil Bro:_ ** _Yeah cos they look just like lizards but without legs so do they get jealous that they were so close to being lizards but then got fucked over?_

**_[14:30] Shito:_** _I honestly don’t know what to say..._  
**[14:31] Shito:** Hey Keith it’s Allura! 1) You HAVE to tell me what he saved me under  
**[14:31] Shito:** 2) Snakes have probably learnt to self love as they live their lives with such grace  
**[14:32] Shito:** Also they can eat the mf

**_[14:33] Li Bro:_ ** _Your answer is bs but I accept it  
**[14:33] Lil Bro:** Maybe I will tell you..._

**_[14:34] Shito:_ ** _Please don’t_

**_[14:35] Lil Bro:_ ** _I dunno...I heard secrets in relationships are bad..._

**_[14:37] Shito:_ ** _That’s it. You’re grounded._

**_[14:38] Lil Bro:_ ** _Hahahaha_

* * *

 

**_[14:40] McStabbers:_ ** _Do you think snakes are jealous of lizards?_

**_[14:45] Cuba Libre:_ ** _Dude wtf?!_

**_[14:50] McStabbers:_ ** _Cos like they look like lizards without legs so are they mad that they were so close to being a lizard but got fucked over?_

**_[14:52] Cuba Libre:_ ** _I...  
**[14:53] Cuba Libre:** Shit…are they jealous?_

**_[14:55] McStabbers:_ ** _I mean like I would be if I was a snake_

**_[14:56] Cuba Libre:_** _Shit..._  
**[14:56] Cuba Libre:** OMG  
**[14:57] Cuba Libre:** Those poor snakes!

**_[14:58] McStabbers:_ ** _Right?! They were screwed over!  
**[15:07] McStabbers:**??_

**_[15:10] Cuba Libre:_ ** _Hey dude I don’t know what you’ve done but I think you broke Lance – Hunk_

**_[15:11] McStabbers:_ ** _Wait what?_

**_[15:12] Cuba Libre:_ ** _He just keeps muttering about the poor snakes  
**[15:13] Cuba Libre:** He just asked me if it’s possible to build legs for snakes..._

**_[15:14] McStabbers:_ ** _OMG  
**[15:14] McStabbers:** Err tell him they’ve probably learnt to self love..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I'm seriously excited for comicon! There's a group of us going as Disney Villains and I'm going as Mother Gothel from Tangled!!  
> If you're there on Saturday and see me (A Mother Gothel surrounded by Villains lol) please feel free to come say hello! I'd love to meet you and I'd love to see your costume!!


	15. Havens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is  **IMPORTANT trigger warning**! The following chapter describes a panic attack a means of grounding yourself. It's only in the beginning of the chapter and I put a division line in so if you feel like you would be too much for you to read feel free to scroll down to the line and then from there it should be trigger free.
> 
> If you skipped it but would like a quick safe description of what happened please feel free to message me and I'll happily tell you so you don't feel like you're missing anything of the story.
> 
> On a personal note: the form of grounding used in this fic is the one that I personally use, I find that it really helps to bring you out of a panic attack even if you have to do it a few times so if anyone else suffers with them I recommend using it. Again if you skipped it but want to know what the technique just leave me a message :)

_You can do this. I can't do this. Yes you can. I really don't think I can do this._ Keith continued his internal battle as Lance led them towards the fairground; his feet dragged more and his hand gripped Lance's tighter the closer they got to the entrance. Keith suddenly became acutely aware of the amount of people swarming into the ground and felt increasingly overwhelmed.

 _Relax. It's fine; you're just meeting his friends. Isn't it too soon for that? He works with them you can't really avoid them; might as well get it over with. What if I fuck up? What if they don't like me? I'm not good at social situations! Oh my god I'm going to fuck up! Lance is with you; things will be alright. Yeah, yeah okay._ Keith took a deep breath to try and ground himself and stop the panic he was desperately trying to fight down. The minute they crossed the threshold into the fair the amount about people that surrounded them quadrupled and his senses where attacked with a variety of sights, sounds and smells.  _Fuck no._

"I can't do this" Keith chocked; halting suddenly and stopping Lance from continuing forward. Lance turned around with a look of confusion that quickly turned into one of concern at the panic stricken look across Keith's face.

Everything was loud and bright and too much; his vision blurred and his eyes couldn't focus on anything, they were darting around picking up on everything and anything. He could vaguely hear his name being called but it sounded muted and hollow; the bubble of panic began to rise from his stomach and he felt it push against his ribs as though he was trying to escape from his own body. Suddenly he felt two hands caress either side of his face and he felt grounded just enough to drag his eyes from staring off into the distance to focus on the blue pools of calm that appeared before him.

"Keith" Lance said quietly; his voice soothing the turmoil in Keith's mind. "list me five things you can see"

"What?" Keith croaked; his brow crinkling in confusion.

"Trust me" Lance said stroking his thumb gently across Keith's cheek "List five things you can see, okay?"

Keith nodded; not trusting his voice as he felt tears trickling down his cheeks. His eyes flitted around far too quickly to take anything in, instead his surroundings blurred again. A gentle squeeze against his cheek brought him back and he took a deep breath before trying again and making a point to focus on different things.

"Um I see a Ferris wheel and some balloons and erm a girl with green hair...she's cute" Keith mumbled and Lance snorted slightly and Keith's eyes snapped to his face

"You have blue eyes, like the ocean, I like them" Keith stated and Lance's face began to warm "and you have a cute freckle just under your eye"

"Okay...erm now four...four things you can feel" Lance stuttered; coughing slightly to try and clear his throat.

"I can feel your hands" Keith murmured his voice still thick with panic but he took another steadying breath and tried to concentrate. He flexed his hands not realising he had them in fists and looked down to see his palm covered in deep half moons. "I can feel the stinging in my hands, the aching in my chest and... and your breath...it tickles"

"Now three things you can hear" Lance said softly, pleased that the tears had stopped falling and Keith's voice was slowly getting stronger.

Keith hummed slightly and closed his eyes to help him pin point distinct sounds. "I hear what sounds like ice-cream van music" He whispered.

"I can hear general chatter and a child crying" Keith said; his nose crinkling as the last sound pierced his ears. "Really loudly"

"Two things you can smell" Lance encouraged; moving his hands to rub Keith's shoulder softly before pulling him into hug once he was sure Keith was relaxed enough for the touch not to be over whelming.

"This one is difficult" Keith grumbled taking multiple deep breaths as his hands clung loosely onto Lance's shirt. The more breaths he took and the more he concentrate the more the feeling of panic ebbed from his body.

"I can smell your cologne and I think I can smell candyfloss" Keith concluded after a while.

"Well if you thought that was hard you'll love this" Lance chuckled "one thing you can taste"

Keith groaned and Lance couldn't help his body shaking in silent laughter as he heard the soft smack of Keith's lips as he tried to gauge the flavours left in his mouth.

"I think I can still taste the bacon from breakfast and that's really gross and I don't want to do that again" Keith mumbled as he buried his face into Lance's chest. Lance placed a hand on Keith's head; stroking his hair softly for a few seconds before pulling Keith away to look at his face.

"Better?" Lance asked tentatively and relief filled his chest as Keith smiled shyly before nodding.

"Thank you" He said earnestly marvelling at how quickly he was able to recover from a panic attack, Keith looked at Lance curiously wondering where he had learnt that technique.

"It's called grounding" Lance said answering the question in Keith's eyes before the words could leave his lips. "It's my preferred method because it makes me concentrate on everything but my attack"

* * *

"Are you okay?" Lance asked worriedly; using a thumb to wipe away a stray tear "Do you want to leave?"

"I'm okay now" Keith said honestly "I really do want to meet your friends I just got overwhelmed"

Lance's responding smile was dazzling and gave Keith another boost of confidence; he smiled as brightly as he could in return.

"Well if at any point you want to leave let me know" Lance said seriously and Keith nodded "Now, let's taste that bacon"

Keith laughed happily and Lance grinned as he leant down and brought their lips together. They kissed sweetly; hands sitting lightly against hips or around shoulders before a loud voice made them jump.

"QUIT SUCKING FACE AND INTRODUCE US ALREADY" the voice shouted. Keith's eyes widened in surprise and Lance chuckled shaking his head.

"That would be Pidge" He murmured.

"I like her already" Keith said with a huffed laugh. Lance smiled and stepped from Keith and took his hand as he turned so they stood facing the devil in question and her two accomplices.

Pidge was standing there in all her tiny glory; smirking broadly with her arms crossed and her hip popped out to the side. Her thick hair was sticking out all over the place though managed to somehow look style though Lance knew she probably just rolled out of bed. She was wearing a loose white vest that was tucked into a black high waisted skirt; she had on ankle high black boots with knee high black socks; her whole outfit was topped off with a long bottle green knitted cardigan that came down to her knees.

Shay and Hunk were stood just behind her with equally devious smiles on their faces. Hunk had on a mustard yellow shirt jacket over a grey t-shirt and black jeans; he had one arm around Shay and the other was raised up in a wave. Shay had her hair pulled up into two pom-poms; one seemed to squish up against Hunk's cheek but he doesn't seem to care. She was wearing blue denim ripped jeans on, a white vest top pulled snugly over her stomach and a multi-coloured pastel kimono shawl; she looked the least mischievous and the most excited of the three.

"Keith, let me introduce you to Pidge, Hunk and Shay" Lance said grinning at his friends and moving a hand in a dramatic sweep as he spoke.

"It's nice to meet you again" Hunk said letting go of Shay and walking around Pidge towards Keith with a hand held out.

"You too" Keith said earnestly taking hold of Hunk's hand; as soon as he did he was pulled into a tight hug knocking the breath out of his lungs. He was put down just as quickly as he was hugged and could hear Lance chuckling next to him.

"This is my wife Shay" Hunk said gesturing for the taller woman to come forward; his voice thick with pride and as she walked around Pidge he could see why. He knew she was pregnant but he hadn't realised she was  _that_  pregnant.

"We've heard so much about you!" She gushed pulling him into a hug just as tight as Hunks; Keith had to bend his body in an unnatural way to make sure he didn't push up against her stomach but tried to hug her back just as tightly albeit hesitantly.

"Yeah, Lance won't shut up about you" Pidge said adjusting her glasses and looking at Lance with an evil glint in her eyes.

"Oh really?" Keith drawled turning to face Lance with a smirk, once shay had let go of him, relishing in the deep blush that spread over his cheeks.

"All good things I hope" Keith said looking at Pidge this time when he spoke. Neither of them had a made a move to shake hands of embrace to which Keith was somewhat grateful, but they were grinning broadly at each other.

"I hope you're ready to gossip McStabbers" She said with a wink before turning and walking towards the centre of the fair.

As if on instinct everyone followed her; Lance took hold of Keith's hand and they hung back behind everyone else. Lance eyed him wearily; making sure he was okay and Keith smiled and squeezed his hand reassuringly. Lance huffed a sigh of relief and grinned while he placed a loving kiss on Keith's temple.

"So...?" Lance started, not actually sure what he wanted to say.

"I didn't think Shay would look that big" Keith muttered; Lance laughed loudly not expecting those words to come out of his boyfriend's mouth.

"Have you never seen a pregnant lady before?" He chuckled in response; Keith scowled slightly.

"Not in real life" Keith admitted sheepishly "But she looks like she's ready to pop!"

"Do me a favour and go tell her what you just told me" Lance said struggling really hard to not just burst out laughing at how cute Keith was.

"Fuck off, I don't have a death wish" Keith said elbowing Lance in the ribs but he couldn't help chuckling.

"No, no it'll be fine trust me! On a completely unrelated what kind of flowers would you like at your funeral?"

"God, you're the fucking worst!" The both laughed as they caught up with the rest of the gang who had managed to claim a table by the food vans.

They spent a good hour just sitting at the table divulging to Keith all the embarrassing stories they could about Lance. Keith couldn't stop laughing his sides hurt, he was gasping for breath and occasional tears ran down his cheeks; no-one at the table was in a better state than he was so he didn't feel too embarrassed at the knowledge that his face was flustered. He felt a little wary and bad about laughing at the first few stories but it turned out that Lance took it all in his stride even re-counting stories himself; though that didn't stop his face from being the brightest of the lot but Keith honestly just found it endearing. Keith caught Lance's eye and they grinned happily at each other and Keith couldn't think of anything else except  _'this adorable idiot is mine'_.

After a while Lance was eager to go on the different rides available; Hunk was bullied into going on at least two rides before he was allowed to pass in favour of keeping Shay company. Pidge and Keith were not so lucky and were ruthlessly dragged by Lance to a variety of spinning death contraptions as Hunk had called them. To be perfectly honest Keith actually enjoys rides; though he much prefers the ones found in amusement parks to the ones in fairs he couldn't help feeding of Lance's excitement. Even Pidge, who took it upon herself to grumble and complain about being forced onto rides, was having fun screaming along with Lance and indulging in the game of confessions. Honestly that had to be the best game Keith had ever played; it consisted of you having to spill the beans on something just before the ride hurled you into oblivion and the stuff that came out of Lance and Pidge's mouths were hysterical.

After half a dozen rides or so Keith called it quits, sending Pidge an apologetic smile when she glared at him after realising it was just her and Lance now. Keith went to stand next to Hunk and Shay as they watched the pair scramble onto Chaos a ride that rotated while it spun you and to top it off the individual capsules swung forwards and backwards; frankly Keith was happy he got away before he was forced onto that particular contraption.

"You sure you don't fancy joining them on that ride Hunk?" Keith asked sweetly with only a hint of a smirk on his lips.

"God no!" Hunk laughed shaking his head "I can't stomach rides I get far too much motion sickness; luckily I can use this one as an excuse to not go on them now"

Shay rolled her eyes but chuckled as Hunk pulled her close by her waist and kissed her on the cheek. She kissed Hunk in returned then excused herself exclaiming that she had to go to find a toilet and a stall that sold the greasiest churros. She left them with muttering complaints about how she was sure the baby was messing with her because she wanted to dip the churros in mustard.

"Trust me it's not the weirdest concoction she's eaten" Hunk said chuckling at the slight look of distaste on Keith's face. Suddenly the sound of Lance and Pidge's shrieks caught their attention and they turned back to watched their friends get flung about.

"So how did you meet Lance?" Keith asked as they watched.

"Oh the three of us were roommates at uni" Hunk said with a wave of his hand, "He was studying astrology, I studied engineering and Pidge studied computer science. We all sort of clicked you know; though I think that was mainly due to Lance he has a way of bonding people together"

"How did you end up working at the shop then?" Keith asked curiously, he wasn't sure what would make an engineer work at a florist.

"I surprised he hasn't told you already" Hunk said with a hum "I was the one that helped him get it set up all those years ago and started working there"

"It's not my only job mind, I only work a few days a week the rest of the time I work at the university in their labs" Hunk paused taking hold of Shay's hand who had appeared sometime during the conversation, before he continued. "That's where I met this angel; she's a professor of archaeology there"

"The flower shop isn't the end game though" Hunk said softly as he watched Lance pull Pidge into the queue to go again.

"What do you mean?" Keith enquired.

"Well I love baking, you'll come to know that soon enough" Hunk said with a wink "and I assume Lance told you why he opened Blue right?"

Keith nodded so Hunk kept going. "Well I have my own little family based wish"

"When I was growing up my mums loved to bake and cook; they even opened up a little ATM style bakery to sell the things they made. My sister and I loved to help in the kitchen and with the customers and since then I've always wanted to own my own bakery" He spoke with just as much passion and determination as Lance had that Keith couldn't help but smile softly.

"It was something that I always pictured doing in my later years but when Lance opened up the shop we made a pact." He smiled and waved up to the man in question as he shrieked their names from the spinning monstrosity. "That as soon as one of the shops next door to Blue goes up for sale we'll buy it and convert the two into a bakery cafe slash florist"

"So a little haven. Somewhere for you to feel like you're surrounded by family?" Keith pondered.

"Exactly"

Keith hummed and watched as Lance and Pidge made their way (albeit very wobbly) to them and mulled the conversation he just had in his mind. Keith started to wrack through his brain searching for a hint that he had a haven; a place or a thing that he had to feel close to the family he loved but couldn't be near. He realised he didn't and that made his stomach drop slightly; he wanted one, his whole body ached with the desire to have a haven to bring his family back to him, to be able to feel happy in memories.

Lance and Pidge came up to them then; faces bright from laughter and wind burn and tears trailing down their cheeks. Their laughter was infectious and soon the whole group were laughing heartily; Keith couldn't stop the cheek splitting smile that pulled at his lips as he watched them all interact with each other. The group radiated happiness and love and acceptance; everyone could see that they were just like a family and Keith was incredibly happy and surprised that he found himself being a part of it.

"So what were you guys talking about?" Lance asked; his voice hoarse from screaming and laughing and he smiled brightly at Keith.

"Havens" Keith said smiling back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may or may not shamelessly dress all the characters in outfits I own. Minus the best bi hoodie and Coran's outfit because I'm not cool enough to have his wardrobe lol
> 
> I uploaded some drawings on my tumblr ([teawiththehatter-posts art](https://teawiththehatter-posts.tumblr.com/tagged/my-art)) as part of last weeks update as well as some cosplay pictures from Comicon!


	16. Mothman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't a filler chapter but it is rather short I'm afraid, I hope you enjoy it anyway!   
> It comes coupled with some fic related uploads on tumblr so check them out! I have an announcement that I'll add at the end so make sure you catch it!

 

"Ah man I'm exhausted" Lance groaned as he flopped himself down on the sofa; his hand flew to cover his mouth and he scrunched his eyes shut before moaning again, "Ugh and I feel queasy"

"I'm not surprised" Keith said; hanging his jacket up before making his way to the kitchen to get some water "You ate a stupid amount of junk food  _and_ went on every spinning ride there was"

" _Twice_ " Keith said as he knocked the glass of water against Lance's knuckles; Lance brought his hands down from his face and took the glass gratefully muttering thanks before drinking it down looking rather sheepish.

"I got excited..." Lance mumbled; Keith rolled his eyes with a snort but smiled at the foolish man.

"God you look awful" He commented with a smirk.

"Yeah yeah love you too babe" Lance grumbled; rolling his eyes before chugging down the rest of the water. Keith chuckled; sitting down at the end of the sofa, he let Lance stretch his legs out and rest them on his lap as he leaned his head back and sighed.

They had all stayed at the fair a lot longer than they had anticipated; they had spent hours going on the rides and eating food and watching Pidge lose way too much money at the games. That had actually been hilarious to witness; she was getting increasingly angrier that despite her PhD she still couldn't win at a game that involved 'throwing goddamn balls into fucking milk cans!'. She was promptly chastised by Shay about the 'foul' language she was using had to promise never to swear around the baby again; everyone else was trying really hard not to burst out laughing at the look on Pidge's face.

After all of that the pair trudged back to Lance's apartment utterly exhausted. Though since they walked through the door Lance's phone had not stopped buzzing; Keith was trying not to let it get to him but he was pretty certain it was the group talking about him and he couldn't stop his thoughts from running away with that idea. He must have sighed or something because Lance looked up at him with apologetic smile.

"They loved you, you know" Lance said chuckling as he read another message that came through "They won't stop talking about how great you were"

Keith raised a disbelieving eyebrow; it was miracle Lance even liked him he highly doubted he could have such good luck with continuous good first impressions. Lance nudged him with his foot and gave him an unimpressed look.

"Stop what you're thinking, you're a lovable human being" He said before throwing Keith his phone, "Look"

_[Paladin party]_

**_Shaymeless:_ ** _omg wasn't he just adorable?!  
_ _**Shaymeless:** _ _I love him so much I want to cry_

**_Hunk of love:_ ** _You done good buddy_

**_Pidgeon:_ ** _He passed the tests  
_ _**Pidgeon:** _ _He is worthy_

**_Lancey Lance:_ ** _WTF he's not a blood sacrifice Pidge!_

**_Pidgeon:_ ** _Yet..._

**_Lancey Lance:_ ** _!_

**_Pidgeon: ..._ ** _Yet_

**_Lancey Lance:_ ** _You scare me  
_ _**Lancey Lance:** _ _I fear the only reason I'm still friends with you is because you'll kill me in my sleep if I'm not_

**_Hunk of love:_ ** _100% the only reason I'm her friend_

**_Pidgeon:_ ** _Oh please  
_ _**Pidgeon:** _ _Killing you in your sleep is far too merciful_

**_Lancey Lance:_ ** _You touch me and I'm setting Keith on you!_

**_Shaymeless:_ ** _You'd be in trouble then Pidge  
_ _**Shaymeless:** _ _Did you see those muscles?!_

**_Hunk of love:_ ** _Babe I'm literally in the other room..._

**_Lancey Lance:_ ** _Shay you can't have my best friend and then try to steal my boyfriend!  
_ _**Lancey Lance:** _ _That's being very greedy_

**_Shaymeless:_ ** _OMG guys don't you think Keith would be adorable with little cat ears on?!_

**_Hunk of love:_ ** _Er wat?_

**_Shaymeless:_ ** _I'm just saying he would make an adorable cat!  
_ _**Shaymeless:** _ _Well Lance?_

**_Lancey Lance:_ ** _I'm not saying you're wrong but..._

**_Pidgeon:_ ** _OMG guys! Lance is a furry!  
_ _**Pidgeon:** _ _asdfghjk this is amazing!_

"You're a furry?" Keith said raising an eyebrow looking up from the phone with a smirk. Lance blanched and buried his face in a cushion; Keith couldn't stop laughing at how red and embarrassed Lance had gotten. At that point the phone in his hands buzzed again and he looked down to look at the message.

**_Pidgeon:_ ** _OMG LANCE!  
_ _**Pidgeon:** _ _I forgot to ask him the fucking question!_

"What's the question?" Keith asked confused.

"Huh?" Lance said looking up from the cushion. Keith handed the phone back and Lance chuckled as he read the message.

"She always said that when whoever I was dating passed the 'tests', don't ask I don't know" Lance said stopping Keith from being able to form the question "She would ask them a special question"

"Alright...?" Keith said suddenly feeling quite nervous "What's the question?"

"Do you believe in mothman?" Lance held up a finger just as Keith opened his mouth "You have to answer honestly"

Keith blushed furiously before me mumbled "Yes"

"Oh you're gonna regret that answer" Lance said with the biggest grin on his face before typing furiously on his phone leaving Keith staring at him in confusing.

**_Lancey Lance:_ ** _I asked him  
_ _**Lancey Lance:** _ _He said yes_

**_Hunk of love:_ ** _OMG_

**_Shaymeless:_ ** _Oh my..._

**_Pidgeon:_ ** _aaaaahhhhhhhh!_  
_**Pidgeon:** _ _Move over bitch Keith is my boyfriend now!  
_ _**Pidgeon:** _ _I'm in love with him and there's nothing you can do about it!_

**_Hunk of love:_ ** _Hahahahaha_

**_Shaymeless:_ ** _This is amazing_

**_Lancey Lance:_ ** _I'd hand him over to you except for that fact that you're very much female and he is very much gay_

**_Pidgeon:_ ** _Curse my female genitals!_  
_**Pidgeon:** _ _Once again in the way of me and true love!  
_ _**Pidgeon:** _ _Give me his number dammit!_

Lance looked up at Keith with the proudest smile on his face and Keith was utterly perplexed at the situation. Then his phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number.

**_Unknown:_ ** _We must hang out!_  
_**Unknown:** _ _I have all the possible cryptid documentaries you could ever want and we must watch all_ __****  
Unknown: _We must watch them tomorrow  
_ _**Unknown:** _ _I will see you tomorrow_

**_Keith:_ ** _Pidge I assume  
_ _**Keith:** _ _Sure I'll watch them with you_

**_Pidge:_ ** _I love you and I love nothing  
_ _**Pidge:** _ _Feel privileged bitch_

"You have the craziest bunch of friends ever" Keith said looking up and smiling "I love them"

"That's a relief because they're your friends now too" Lance said beaming back at him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My beautiful beautiful readers, I just wanted to say that I absolutely adore every single one of you and everytime I get a comment or a kudos it honestly makes my day!
> 
> Which is why I want to let you know that I'm considering writing another Klance fanfic (Don't worry it probably won't be posted until the end of this one) the premise is an accidental demon summoning where we'll see a lot more of Galra!Keith and also it'll play more into their 'rivalry' I.e. their rocky start so not as fluffy as this but certainly not angsty.
> 
> What do you guys think? Are you interest? Should I pursue it?


	17. Stay awake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for not posting anything fic related last week; if you follow me on tumblr you'd already know about it but basically I was verbally threatened last week and had to get the police involved because things had turned violent. On top of that all my uni files corrupted and deadlines begin next week so it's been one stressful thing after another, but thank you for your patience.
> 
> Trigger warning: There are mentions of depression in this chapter and this chapter is a little bit angsty (I may have been self projecting onto Keith)

Keith peeled his eyes open from what must have been the fifth nap of the day. Last night was another unsuccessful attempt at sleeping; it doesn’t seem to matter if he goes to bed early or really late his energy levels never seem to increase. His mind is constantly plagued with vibrant nonsensical dreams that keep his brain working overtime so he always wakes up just as tired as he did when he first lay on his pillow.

He wished he had a more justifiable reason to be tired; that his dreams made sense, that they were relevant or even nightmares. How could he possibly tell someone he’s sleep deprived because he dreamt he tracked down an old friend he was no longer in touch with just, so they could have Bolognese; how is it fair that dreams ridiculous as that have the right to exhaust him?!

Not even refusing to get out of bed until he falls back asleep (five times apparently) can be rejuvenating enough for him to feel a somewhat normal level of energy. He could sleep for a hundred years just to wake up and still feel like he could use a hundred more.

Keith stared at the ceiling really hating the way his body felt; it was heavy and disjointed like a ragdoll’s. It felt disconnected to him like it was something that was simply there and not an extension of himself. Even rolling to his side felt like dragging a tyre; if his depression would give him a fucking break he’d _really_ appreciate it!

He groaned loudly; he hated the way he felt lying in his bed more than his feeling of exhaustion and so he willed his body to move. He rolled himself off the bed and landed on the floor with a loud thump; even lying cocooned in his blanket on the hard floor he had to fight the urge to just close his eyes and drift back to sleep. Even still he didn’t detangle himself from his nest he simply turned his head to the side and stared under his bed with a sigh.

His eyes fell on a battered black case that was covered in faded and peeling stickers, he stared at it contemplating; the words of Lance and Hunk repeating themselves in his mind. Before he knew it he had pulled his arm free and was reaching out to grab the case. He sat up and pulled the object out from under the bed; maybe this could be his haven.

Keith unclipped the buckles on the side and opened the lid gingerly; inside laid his father’s guitar, looking exactly as it had done on the day he left it. His hands had been the last to play it and that’s how it had stayed for the past ten years; even when Keith would take it out it was only to ensure the strings were still all in tune and the body polished.

He ran his hands over the wooden body and gently thumbed the strings listening as the notes softly rang out perfectly in tune. Since his father passed he had never dared to play the guitar just like he never dared to sing his Mother’s song; even when his father had played it he had refused to let anyone sing the lyrics. Was he really brave enough to do both now?

He picked up the guitar and let the case slide off his lap; he carefully adjusted his grip on it and with trembling hands he played the first chord. Even those he had refused for so many years to play and sing he had never forgotten; he remembered every guitar lesson his father ever gave him, remembered the exact chords and strumming needed to play his mothers song and he remembered every single lyric to it.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he began to play. The chords danced sweetly around the room; filling his ears with the sound he so fondly remembered but hadn’t realised he missed. In an instant he felt hot tears roll down his cheeks and splash onto the instrument; he opened his mouth and softly sang the lullaby his mother had often sung to him.

_Stay awake_   
_Don’t rest your head_   
_Don’t lie down_   
_Upon your bed_

_While the moon drifts in the sky_   
_Stay awake_   
_Don’t close your eyes_

It has heart breaking hearing the song so familiar to him not being sung in his mothers’ voice and knowing he will never get the chance to hear it again.  Though at the same time he felt oddly comforted; it made the impossible distance between him and his parents seem just a little bit smaller. To sing the song his mother loved and to play the guitar his father loved made it feel like (even if it was just for that moment) they were there in the room with him; smiling and proud of the person he had become. This was his haven.

Outside his room a conversation had been stunned silent; Shiro and Allura sat on the sofa listening to Keith’s voice drift out towards them.

_Though the world is fast asleep_   
_Though your pillow's soft and deep_   
_You're not sleepy as you seem_   
_Stay awake_   
_Don't nod and dream_   
_Stay awake_   
_Don't nod and dream_

“I’ve never heard Keith play the guitar before” Allura whispered. Shiro’s eyes were unfocused as he listened to Keith but turned to look at Allura when he heard her speak.

“He hasn’t played it since his dad passed” Shiro said solemnly; Allura’s eyes widen slightly but she nodded in understanding.

“Keith and his dad used to play and sing all the time” Shiro continued “He’d spend hours teaching Keith all the different chords and the different strumming patterns. It was their favourite thing to do together”

“When he passed away I never saw the guitar again. I knew he still had it because I would occasionally hear him tuning it but never playing it” Shiro’s brow furrowed as he listened to the lyrics “But this song…”

“What about it?” Allura asked.

“It’s the lullaby his mother used to sing him. She loved Mary Poppins and this was her favourite song apparently she used to sing it all the time”

“But when she left he wouldn’t let anyone even hum it; not even his father. I wonder why he suddenly started-“ Shiro cut off with gasp.

Allura stared at Shiro in alarm as he slapped a hand over his mouth and stared wide eyed in shock. He began to tremble, and tears streamed down his face; Allura pulled him into her embrace and tried to sooth him. She didn’t know what was causing him to react in such a way, but she vaguely heard that the song Keith was singing had changed.

“My mother’s favourite song” Shiro chocked out, “I can’t believe he remembered”

 _Well I don't know how and I don't know why_  
 _But when something's living well you can't say die_  
 _You feel like laughing but you start to cry_  
 _I don't know how and I don't know why_  
  
_Well I don't have many and I don't have much_  
 _In fact I don't have any but I've got enough_  
 _'Cause I know those eyes and I know that touch_  
 _I don't have many and I don't have much_  
  
_But oh darling my heart's on fire_  
 _Oh darling my heart's on fire_  
 _Oh darling my heart's on fire_  
 _For you_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the support for my new fic idea I will definitely be pursuing it and will probably begin posting in the new year!
> 
> The songs mentioned in this chapter are Stay wake- Mary Poppins and Heart on Fire- Passenger if you haven't heard them before then I highly recommend listening to them xx


	18. Hey Keeiittthhh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two deadlines down! 1 to go! I already got the marks for one back and got 78% that's a 1st! (Sorry non British readers I don't know what this would translate to but our modules are marked 3rd, 2:2, 2:1 and 1st) Frankly I'm relieved given the trauma I had to live through a few weeks ago!

"Hey Keith~" Allura sang as she slid into the seat next to him and Shiro took the chair opposite. Keith sighed but didn't look up to acknowledge either of them.

"Whatever it is you want; it's a no from me" He said continuing to scribble notes on the document in front of him.

"We just want to meet him" Shiro said, leaning back on his chair and taking a sip from the tea he ordered.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Keith mumbled.

"C'mon we want to meet the guy that has you doodling little hearts all over your work" Shiro teased, knocking his knee against Keith's.

"I hate you and everything you love" Keith said finally looking up but only to glare at his brother. Shiro met his gaze evenly and smirked.

"What if I end up loving Lance?" Shiro asked; he and Allura chuckled when they saw Keith falter.

"That's really something you should determine before you make such bold statements" Allura said soothingly but there was something in her eyes that Keith didn't trust. Keith looked between the two of them displeased.

"It's been a few months Keith" Shiro chided.

"He even got you to dress up for Halloween! Not even I could manage that! So he's clearly important to you" Allura said happily, the smile never leaving her face "Plus we'd like to meet him before Christmas if you don't mind"

"Are you embarrassed of us?" Shiro asked his voice eerily nonchalant and Keith hated how guilty that made him feel.

Keith closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in defeat. "What did you have in mind?" He mumbled.

"Excellent!" Allura exclaimed; practically bouncing with excitement, "We were thinking we could all go out for a nice meal at Deja Vu"

"Noooo, nope, nu-uh, no thank you" Keith said hastily shaking his head suddenly acutely aware of the terrible idea he was about to agree to.

"Why not?" Allura said with a pout.

"You're making it seem like he's meeting my parents, why can't we just do something casual?" Keith somewhat displeaded with them. "When I met his friends we went to a fair"

"Keith..." Shiro said, crossing his arms; a clear look of disapproval on his face.

"No, forget it. I'm not doing it" Keith said stubbornly.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this" Keith grumbled as he and Lance made their way across the street towards the restaurant.

Keith was wearing black skinny jeans, tan timberland boots and a deep red sweater; he had his hair up in a pony tail and looked incredibly handsome despite giving a death glare to everyone that walked past. Lance was wearing camel coloured chinos, a pair of loafers, a white shirt and navy cable knit cardigan; he was holding Keith's hand but was shooting worried glances towards his boyfriend.

"Keith babe" Lance said, squeezing Keith's hand gently "I'm trying really hard to be confident as I'm about to meet your brother but you're seriously starting to freak me out"

"Why are you so mad about this? It's not like he's going to kill me right?" Lance laughed nervously; Keith just huffed and the scowl on his face deepened "Oh my god he's going to kill me! Why would you bring me here just to kill me?! Just dump me like a normal person jeez!"

"Lance what the hell?" Keith said laughing loudly; scowl erased and Lance's look of mock panic and outrage turned to a smirk.

"If you think you can kill me with no consequence just know I'll haunt you forever and you'll always be on the run from pidge" Lance said poking Keith's forehead happy to see the tension lift from his expression.

"That sounds terrifying; I'll keep that in mind" Keith said his laughter dying down to a soft chuckle.

"So what's really wrong?" Lance asked softly taking Keith's hand once again as they continued walking.

"It's just so formal" Keith sighed "It's like you're going to be interviewed or meeting my  _parents_  or something…"

"Well to be fair he  _is_ your brother and he's the most important person in your life so it is kind of a big deal" Keith huffed again and Lance bumped him with his hips "Don't worry everyone loves me!"

"I'm the worlds best sharpshooter! Aim straight for the heart!" Lance winked and pointed a finger in Keith's direction.

"You're just a dork" Keith said shaking his head.

"Hey, I won you over didn't I?" Lance said with a smirk.

They walked into the restaurant and gave the booking name to the bubbly hostess who cheerfully lead them to their table. As they approached Shiro got up from his seat and waved at them; at the sight of him Lance's steps faltered and he grabbed Keith's arm in an almost painful grip.

"Mother of mercy, he's huge!" Lance squeaked "he really is going to kill me! Keith you lied!" He released his death grip only to smack Keith's arm glaring at him accusingly.

Keith just chuckled and shook his head. As soon as they got to the table Keith was pulled into a hug by both Allura and Shiro before turning with expectant smiles to face Lance. Lance held out his hand to shake Shiro's and Shiro smiled before he gripped his hand (with admittedly too much force) and shook it a couple times; Allura then introduced herself and also held out a hand.

"Beauty, grace and the accent to boot" Lance said taking her hand to kiss it instead "You must be a princess"

Allura laughed heartily while Keith gave him an unimpressed look that looked like he was questioning all of his current life decisions.

"Going for the charming technique I see" She said gesturing for them to all sit "I'm impressed"

"Of course, I have to pull out all of the stocks tonight" Lance said with a light laugh.

As soon as they sat down Shiro leant forward, giving Lance a once over, both of his hands clasped under his chin.

"So, Lance…" He began with a serious look and tone; Keith shot him a wary look but Lance smiled politely waiting for Shiro to finish.

"What are your intentions with my Keith?"

The man in question balked and stared at Shiro incredulously; he looked over at Allura for support but face palmed when all she did was lean forward claiming she too wanted to know the answer. The looks in their eyes were completely and utterly intimidating and Keith couldn't believe they were directed towards Lance; this was just one of the many reason he didn't want the night to happen. His face burst red in embarrassment and he groaned; Lance however didn't look fazed in the slightest instead he looked like he was genuinely considering the question.

"Well sir," Lance began and Shiro smirked slightly at the title, "I endeavour to make him as happy as he makes me"

He turned to smile sweetly at Keith and Keith didn't think he face could heat up anymore but he was wrong. He was stupidly red but he couldn't look away from Lance's intense gaze; then slowly his smile turned into a mischievous grin and before Keith could say anything Lance leaned in a kissed him passionately. When he pulled away Keith was staring at him wide eyed and slightly breathless; Lance then turned to the other two as if nothing happened.

"And of course I will take all and every opportunity to embarrass him" Lance concluded with a wink. All three of them burst out laughing while Keith recovered himself enough to glare at Lance and punch him in the arm.

"You fucker" He mumbled and Lance grinned wider.

"Welcome to the family Lance!" Shiro said with a warm smile placing a hand on Lance's shoulder.

The rest of the night went so swimmingly that Keith was almost willing to over look the crazy emotional rollercoaster he was put through with that kiss. They had spent the nice swapping stories; easing up on the 'let's embarrass Keith' theme thankfully, but not enough for Shiro to avoid mentioning the tomato incident, boy did Lance get a kick out of that one. Keith came to the conclusion pretty quickly that maybe it wasn't the worst idea to let Lance meet his family; he actually swelled with pride as he watched Lance get along with them so effortlessly. He couldn't help watching Lance enamoured every time he made Shiro laugh a loving smile splayed across his lips. Unfortunately Allura would always seem to catch him looking and would smirk knowingly; but she did give him a very enthusiastic thumbs up when they turned to leave after saying their goodbyes.

The couple walked back to Lance's apartment and Keith sighed happily when he walked in and was able to take him shoes off and let his hair down. Lance watched him make his way to the kitchen and get himself a glass of water. He walked up behind Keith and wrapped his arms around his waist pulling him close before resting his head on Keith's shoulder.

"That wasn't as bad as you envisioned was it?" He asked; Keith hummed and relaxed into Lance's arm.

"I guess not; though I can't say I appreciate that promise of embarrassment" Keith chided flicking Lance's arm lightly. Lance chuckled before placing a kiss just under his earlobe and Keith sighed happily.

"Sorry, how can I make it up to you?" Lance murmured into his ear before gently kissing down his neck.

"I can think of a few things" Keith breathed and he felt Lance grin into collar.

"Lead the way"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys I don't write smut, that's as steamy as it'll get; but feel free to imagine whatever your dirty little minds desire lol
> 
> I mention Halloween but I obviously didn't write anything for that so if you guys want it I could write a little Halloween special (in December I know right lol) and place it before this chapter occurs.


	19. What if?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a tad late but I just wanted to take this time to thank each and every one of you who have left a kudos or have sent me a comment you mean the world to me!  
> I never thought this would get even a little bit of attention and really didn't expect this to be more than 10 chapter yet here we are!
> 
> HOWEVER we are on the home stretch but things get a little bumpy so *announcers voice* Please keep your hand and feet inside the vehicle at all times while you ride this emotional roller coaster!

Keith wished he could say he woke up all peaceful and cute like in the movies but the reality was his eyes had flown open in alarm at the feeling of his bladder getting ready to burst. He groaned and turned over hoping he could hold it a little longer because he really didn’t want to leave the warmth of the bed just yet. Lance was facing away from him; his smooth back rising and falling softly with each soft breath he took. Keith smiled a leaned forward to gently kiss in-between his shoulder blades; Lance hummed sleepily in approval and Keith chuckled slightly. _Oh shit._ He really shouldn’t have done that; the movement made it clear that his bladder wasn’t gonna hold for much longer.

He sat and stretched; relishing in the dull ache he felt throughout his body. He slowly got out of bed trying not to disturb Lance too much and wondered over to pull out a pair of sweat pants he kept at Lance’s from the draw. He pulled them on and padded out towards the bathroom; when he finished he decided that rather than going back to bed he’d go make some coffee. The machine gurgled and dripped; filling the room with the delicious earthy smell of the coffee that secretly has become his favourite, Keith lent against the counter as he waited; he yawned and scratched his chest absentmindedly as he enjoyed the peaceful silence.

“Keith!” The loud voice followed by louder banging made him jump.

“Keith! Keith! Keith! KEITH! KEITH OPEN UP!” The incessant noise had Keith running to the door and throwing it back exasperated.

“Jesus Christ Pidge! What the fuck?!”

“Hey Keith, what’s up buddy?!” Pidge said smiling cheerfully at him as she pushed past and made her way to the living room.

“How did you even know I was here?” He asked sighing as he closed the door and making his way over to where she was hanging upside down from one of the sofa arm rests.

“Oh please” She said waving her hand dismissively “Of course you’d be here; you met with your brother yesterday”

“So?” Keith said crossing his arms and raising and eyebrow in confusion. Pidge grinned widely which looked even more menacing since she was upside down.

“So you two would obviously have come home to play hide the sausage” Keith pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation and sighed.

“You age me Pidge” He said in a tired voice; Pidge just chuckled.

“It’s fine, it’ll give you a more rugged emo look”

“Why are you here Pidge?” At the sound of his question Pidge looked like she just remembered something and jumped up from her position to sit cross legged on the sofa facing Keith.

“Oh right, yeah, I’m stealing you for the day”

“Where are we going?” Keith asked cautiously; he knew by now that he didn’t really have a say in the matter but that didn’t mean he was suddenly gonna jump in head first.

“The museum has a new exhibit and I _know_ you know all about it” Keith’s lips twitched slightly but didn’t interrupt “So I want a personalised tour and then we’ll go to the science section, so I can show off _my_ knowledge”

“Never one to be out done I see” Keith said with a smirk.

“Of course not! Now go tell your husband you’re ditching him and let’s go!” Pidge said; her excitement and urgency apparent in her voice.

Keith’s brain short circuited at Pidge’s words but just enough power remained to force his body to move towards the bedroom and register Pidge’s confused gaze as he turned. He walked into the room and started getting changed; his actions were heavy and mechanical and he couldn’t help staring around the room. A few of his books were sitting in the bedside table on the side he’d woken up on; the top of it was littered in hair bands and bobby pins. He noticed a pair of his pyjama bottoms hanging over the edge of the laundry basket and he looked down at the clothes he was wearing; they weren’t what he was wearing yesterday but they were very much his. _When did this happen?_

A soft stir snapped Keith out of his thoughts and he heard Lance mumble his name. Never before had hearing Lance say his name swelled his heart while simultaneously squeeze his stomach in terror. He swallowed nervously and walked up to Lance’s sleeping form; he bent down and kissed Lance’s cheek earning a sleepy hum and smile.

“Pidge is kidnapping me today” Keith murmured and Lance chuckled.

“Okay have fun; I’ll see you later” Keith nodded and slowly left the room closing the door before gnawing at his lower lip. _What is going on?_

* * *

 

Keith was acting weird and he knew he was too but he didn’t know how to not be weird. His mind was running a mile a minute with never ending thoughts. Every once in a while, someone would say something seemingly innocent and it’ll send Keith into utter melt down; he felt himself verging on a panic attack every time he dwelt on how serious his relationship with Lance is.

He’s never been in a relationship this long; never have they been serious before. They had always ended before anyone else was thrown in the mix, when it was only the two of them; no-one else knew so no-one else was hurt. Why had it taken a husband joke from Pidge a few weeks ago for him to realise it had gotten to this point? And why was it even an issue?!

He was _happy_ so why the fuck was he feeling so overwhelmed? Why did he want to run away and hide? Things with Lance were good, weren’t they? He didn’t want them to end, did he? But what if they did end? What if Lance has the epiphany he did and quickly realises that Keith is too much? A liability. A shell so broken it will take too long and too much effort to fix.

What if things got even more serious and Lance discovers who he really is and decides its not what he wants? Keith would shatter. Without a doubt that kind of rejection would destroy him. Take his frail pieced together soul and dash it into the fire.

_Everyone has their doubts on love right? This is just a normal freak out surely? Fuck. Since when has anything about you been normal? Do you even remember what it’s like to be that? Shit. Things are gonna get worse aren’t they? What if he leaves? What if I fuck up? What if? What if? What if? What if?!_

It was with these thoughts that Keith found himself having an existential crisis while he stood next to Lance in the middle of a goddamn baby store.

“Oh my God look at these adorable shoes! They’re so small!” Lance cooed picking up a pair of pink trainers and showing them off to Keith. “Hunk and Shay haven’t said what gender the baby is yet though…”

“Whatever, fuck gender normatives anyway!” Lance decided throwing the shoes into the basket he carried. He continued looking round before he gasped and ran towards the next thing that caught his attention.

“It’s a bear onesie!” Lance shrieked pulling one off the rack “Keith look! They’d be an Ewok!”

Keith smiled as he took the clothing piece that was offered to him.

“Aw how sweet; are you shopping for your own?” An older lady asked as she watched them interact. Keith just stared at her numbly. _Fuck._

“Oh no! It’s for my friend actually him and his wife…” Keith couldn’t pay attention as Lance spoke to the woman.

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! Does Lance want kids?! How many? Does he want them with me?! Would he rather have them with a wife? Am I a temporary until he finds one?! Do I want kids?! Shit. God. Fuck I need to get out of this!_

“Excuse me” He mumbles and swiftly makes his way to the exit of the shop; dumping the onesie in his hands on a passing shelf.

Keith tried to take steadying breaths, tried to remember the grounding method as panic bubbled in his chest, but he couldn't concentrate enough to do it. He paced around incessantly scratching at his arm until the skin had turned an angry red; when the stinging got too much he opted to sit on a near by bench. His leg bouncing restlessly.

He didn’t know what to do! Lance was surely going to push him away and he just didn’t know what to do! He has never let anyone get this close before and the only thing he knows how to do is push people away first.

“Keith!” He heard Lance’s worried tone and willed himself to get it together. “Are you okay?”

“I hope I will be” He said standing up but not meeting Lance in the eyes “I want to go home”

“Okay I’ll just pay and then-“

“No I need to go home now” Keith said shaking his head; his feet distancing himself from Lance.

 “Okay” Lance said softly trying to keep the look of hurt off his face. “message me if you need me”

Keith nodded and Lance watched as Keith practically ran away from him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello you beautiful creatures! I come to you with a request!  
> I've been dying to commission Cellyfish (if you don't know them check out their work [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CsodyQ6Jjw)) to do an animation for this fic, they're super interested in it but the only issue is I have no funds :(
> 
> So I started a [Ko-fi page](https://ko-fi.com/X8X67KPN)! If you want to see this amazing animation come to life please donate!  
> Love you all you gorgeous stars <3


	20. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! Please don't hate me because even though I give you this chapter as an xmas gift it's not the happiest one I could give you xxx
> 
> I love you all!! I hope you have a wonderful day no matter how you're spending it!
> 
> (Edit: check out the notes at the bottom)

 

Hunk and Pidge shared a worried look. It's not often they share that look; usually it's an amused look or a questioning all their life choices look but when they did share that look (Especially if it's a Lance centric worried look) it meant things were serious. An outsider probably wouldn't be able to tell; Lance was still smiling and charming all the customers like he would every day, but his smile stopped reaching his eyes, his steps no longer had their bounce and his voice was silent unless spoken to.

In the lull of customers Lance moved to rearrange the plants on display and check they had enough water; anything to keep himself busy. Hunk and Pidge watched as he worked lethargically; placing more red roses into their display and they nodded at each other before making their way around the desk and towards their hurting friend.

Lance jumped slightly as a pair of arms wrapped around his mid-drift and a face buried itself in his back. He hadn't seen his friends move in his peripheral and the sudden embrace cause his hand to fly to his mouth and tears to softly spill down his cheeks; he felt larger hands on his shoulders and he was turned before being pulled into a tighter hold. He sobbed into Hunks shoulder; hands gripping the back of his shirt weakly as the tears flowed freely. He briefly felt Pidge's arm leave and heard the lock on the door go before they came back and squeezed him softly.

After a good few minutes his choked sobs turned into soft sniffles and silent stream of tears. Hunk pulled him away and gently cupped Lance's face; his thumb gently wiping away the tears, Lance closed his eyes and leaned into the hand. Pidge moved from his back to his front and rubbed her face, like a cat, into his chest; he chuckled at the ticklish sensation before he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground slightly as he hugged her tightly, she smiled and kissed his cheek. He put her down and smiled warmly at his friends while wiping away the last of his tears.

"Sorry" He whispered; his voice hoarse.

"First" Pidge said pointing a finger at him and raising an unimpressed eyebrow "Never apologise for your feelings"

"Second; we're here for you okay"

"Thanks" Lance said with a weak chuckle.

"Want to tell us what's wrong?" Hunk asked soothingly, "Is it Keith?"

Lance began shaking his head then caught himself before slowly nodding. "Sort of"

They decided to close the shop early and made their way out to one of the nearby coffee shops. Lance curled up in a corner booth while Pidge and Hunk went to collect their orders; they sat in the booth for a while, sipping their drinks in silence, none of them know quite what to say.

"So…" Pidge said after what felt like an eternity. Lance sighed softly and placed his mug down on the table.

"What do you want to know?" Lance asked weakly and Pidge scrunched her nose but Hunk interrupted her before she could speak.

"We want to know what's wrong" He said and Pidge nodded, "Did you and Keith have a fight?"

"No, but he's acting weird" Lance said swirling his mug. "When we're together it's good; great even! But the time we do spend together is sparse."

"He keeps coming up with excuses not to meet up; claims he's really busy with work which obviously I can't disprove but he's not texting me back much either." Lance looked down and began playing with his hands as he continued speaking.

"I don't want to be an over bearing possessive boyfriend, but I can't help but feel like he's slowly distancing himself and I don't know what to do" Tears started rolling down his cheeks again and he brushed them away angrily.

"If it's any consolation we've seen how much he really and truly cares for you" Pidge said softly; taking Lance's hand in her own.

"Yeah we've seen the way he looks at you; if he is pulling away it's not due to his feelings for you" Hunk said taking his other hand and giving it a squeeze.

"It's the holidays soon right; some people find this time of year hard" Hunk said softly "He's lost all his parental figures except for his brother; it must be difficult celebrating a family centric holiday when you've lost most of it"

"Yeah and maybe he's pulling away instead of talking to you about because well this would be the first time he would have to tell anyone about it and he doesn't know how to" Pidge chimed in.

"He had a melt down when we went to buy baby shower presents" Lance said with a thoughtful look "If the issue is family centric it would make sense."

"Is he still coming to the baby shower on Christmas eve?" Hunk asked and Lance nodded, "Well maybe we can show him that he has an adopted family he can celebrate things with now"

"Thank you guys so much!" Lance said leaning over the table to hug them both.

* * *

 

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Keith asked; staring at Shiro who was leaning against his bedroom door frame.

"I think you know" Shiro said softly with a hint of judgement. Keith sighed and placed the guitar he held on the floor next to him; he couldn't bring himself to play it so it didn't matter.

"Why are you toying with Lance?" Shiro asked, "The poor boy messages me asking if you're okay because he hasn't heard from you and I don't know what to tell him anymore"

"I'm not toying with him" Keith said softly but Shiro just raised an eyebrow "I'm not!"

"I'm just scared" he mumbled quietly; Shiro's gaze soften and he moved to sit next to Keith on the floor.

"What are you scared about?" Shiro asked as he stretched his legs in front of him.

"I'm scared I'm gonna mess things up" Keith said; refusing to meet Shiro in the eyes. "I don't think I can give him everything that he deserves"

"And they're all so close Shiro, they're like a family! And I don't think I'm good enough to be a part of it! It's all so intimidating and Hunk and Shay are gonna have a baby and they'll be a real family and I just don't belong! I don't know what to do…" Keith trailed off and he hunched his shoulders in conflicted shame.

"Have you told him how you feel?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah right; he'll just say I'm being silly" Keith snorted "It's like asking your parent if you're handsome they're obligated to tell you what you want to hear"

"Not necessarily, he's under no requirement to do so" Shiro said his ton still comforting "And wouldn't knowing the truth be the best thing for you?"

"I don't know if I could handle the rejection, but I don't think I'd believe him if he said otherwise" Keith said honestly.

"Well you know my advice, but you have to make the decision" Shiro said patting Keith's knee before he got up and left the room.

Keith didn't tell Lance; he tried, several times, but he just couldn't bring himself to broach the subject. So he opted for the 'fake it until you make it' approach; he decided to suck it up and went back to messaging and meeting with Lance more often like before. Lance seemed relieved and it made him feel a little guilty but not enough to tell him the truth.

Though now he thinks he's bitten off more than he can chew as he walks up Hunk's drive; hand in hand with Lance. He feels his façade begin to crack as he's swept up into a baby shower Christmas eve hybrid embrace and to make things worse everyone is being super nice to him and he can't figure out if they've sussed him out or if it's just his paranoia acting up.

He tries to keep his calm and nonchalant demeanour up but as the minutes tick by the urge to run away grows strong and now he has found himself sitting in a circle and they begin the baby shower part of the evening. They were all sharing birthing horror stories and giving parenting tips and hearing everyone one of them just filled him with more and more panic but Hunk and Shay looked just as excited as ever.

Everyone cooed at all the adorably tiny clothes that had been bought for the new arrival and burst out laughing at all the joke they could come up with about the breast pump but Keith was hardly listening. He just couldn't look away from the expectant couple; the loving gazes they gave each other, the way Shay would gently rub her stomach and smile fondly and how Hunk would sometimes do the same. All he could think was how they were going to be parents.

Keith never felt comfortable around parents; he would always avoid interacting with families like the plague. He never went round anybody's house growing up or spoke to any adult in case they were one; it hurt to see them. A constant reminder of what his could have been like before they were cruelly taken from his world. And now two of his friends were going to be parents; they were going to be a real  _family_  and it hurt! It hurt so much to watch and broke his heart to imagine and he felt like he was going to shattered under the realisation.

Why couldn't the universe give him a break?! He hadn't even come to terms with his own worthlessness and sense of never being enough for Lance and now he has to deal with his family issues as well! Why couldn't his feelings stay buried?! Why did they have to come and punch him in the gut?!

Did he not deserve to have peace? Did he not deserve to be happy?!  _I guess not._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's now art btw! I embedded it into the first chapter go check it out!!
> 
> Hello you beautiful creatures! I come to you with a request!  
> I've been dying to commission Cellyfish (if you don't know them check out their work [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CsodyQ6Jjw)) to do an animation for this fic, they're super interested in it but the only issue is I have no funds :(
> 
> So I started a [Ko-fi page](https://ko-fi.com/X8X67KPN)! If you want to see this amazing animation come to life please donate!  
> Love you all you gorgeous stars <3


	21. Please don't leave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2018 has barely started and I'm already barely holding on but I'm glad I was able to get this done. 
> 
> I just wanted to apologise to all you beautiful and patient readers for the fact that this chapter look so long. This was an unexpected haitus and the longest I've ever taken since writing this and I hope that the fact that this chapter is nearly 5k words long makes up for the fact that you've had to wait for so long.
> 
> I reckon with fic will conclude in two more chapters so we're really close to the end!  
> P.s This fic is pretty angsty (I may have self projected) and TW!!! mentions of panic attacks and mild self harm.
> 
> (Edit: check out the note at the bottom)

“Keith”

Keith hummed in response, not looking up from his notebook as he scribbled down thoughts and check lists ready for when he went back to work in the new year. He had successfully survived Christmas, though he was now physically and emotionally shattered, and he was now happily sitting on the sofa enjoying the serene comfort that was Lance’s presence.

“We need to talk”

His head snapped up and he stared at Lance. Lance sat curled up at the end of the sofa looking at Keith; his voice was solemn, his expression tired and his eyes shone with sadness and what Keith thought looked like pity.

_Oh God. Oh God, please no! Lance please don’t do this. Please… Don’t confirm my deepest fear. I’ve just spent months trying to fight against my feeling that I’m not good enough for you. Told my self-deprecating thoughts that they were wrong, tried desperately not to believe in my worthlessness. If this happens I would have been right and then I won’t know to believe anymore._

A broken sob passed Keith’s lips and he watched Lance’s face change into shock as he took in Keith’s broken expression. He wanted to laugh bitterly; what did Lance expect? That he would take his crumbling world with his chin held high? With a dry eye and a calm voice? He’s had to do that one too many times already.

“Shit!” Lance said jumping up in alarm as Keith angrily wiped away his tears. “ _Shit!_ Shit, no! Shit I didn’t…”

He pulled Keith onto his lap and cradled him tightly against his chest. Keith wanted to push away, he really did, he wanted to hold a semblance of dignity and he didn’t want Lance’s pity, but that’s not what he did; instead he broke down. He clung onto Lance’s sweatshirt and buried his face into his shoulder trying to choke back his tears, though the soft stroking of a hand on his back was making it difficult and he could just about hear what Lance was muttering in his ear.

“I didn’t mean it like that, oh God Keith I’m so sorry. I just…you’ve just been kinda off for a while and I just wanted to ask you what was wrong” Lance’s voice sounded like it was on the verge of tears too and he sounded so frustrated with himself as he ran a hand through Keith’s hair.

“I wanted to help. God I’m such an idiot! Lo siento Keith; perdoname por favor perdoname”

The utter relief that coursed through his body was so overwhelming it caught him off guard; the tears pouring down his cheeks doubled and when he opened his mouth a shocked almost hysterical laugh tumbled past his lips. Lance froze for a second at the unexpected sound and the violent way Keith’s shoulders shook against him before he continued stroking Keith’s hair; whispering soothing words in a worried voice as Keith wetly laughed.

After a few minutes Keith mustered enough energy to push against Lance’s chest and sit upright; his eyes were wide, shining wetly as they darted around taking in Lance’s face. His cheeks were splotched red and his tears had carved paths into the concealer under his eyes. Keith’s lips were chapped and swollen from his attempts at holding back his sobs and they were trembling as deranged chuckles continued to fill the air.

“You just wanted to help” Keith whispered disbelievingly, closing his eyes as he tilted his head back shaking it slowly. “Of course, you fucking did”

“Please Keith” Lance said softly, his voice thick with emotion as he clung tightly onto the hands pushing against his chest “Please don’t be mad, I’m so sorry”

Keith’s head snapped forward as he registered Lance’s words and he stared at the man incredulously.

“I’m not mad, you asshole!” He snapped but his voice had no bite to it “I’m fucking relieved!”

“Oh god” Lance pulled Keith back into a tight embrace; burying his face into Keith’s neck. He suddenly understood why Keith couldn’t stop laughing; his own relief causing his to feel deliriously happy.

He pulled away again and cupped Keith’s face tenderly taking in his small smile before he kissed him feverishly. They broke away for air but Lance quickly began to place small tender kisses all over Keith’s face, catching the salty tears that still rolled down his cheeks until Keith huffed a small chuckle.

“Fuck. I can’t believe I phrased it like that” Lance whispered, his thumb stroked Keith’s cheek gently. “Que idiota soy”

“Heh, yeah” Keith huffed rubbing a fist into his eyes that were beginning to feel dry and sore from the tears; when he dropped his hand, Lance stared frowning.

Keith had inadvertently removed his concealer and was revealing a secret he was probably trying very hard to keep. They could ignore it; pretend it was puffiness from the crying but the sunken look of Keith’s eyes told a different story. Lance looked at Keith’s face, really looked, and saw that Keith looked thinner; the angles of his face protruding in a way that was not quite healthy, and his skin was paler, even his hair had lost its shine.

Lance dropped his hands and instantly grabbed Keith’s arm; pushing up his sleeve before Keith could even think to protest. His grip slacked and his frown deepened; Keith gently removed his arm, pulling down the sleeve before cradling it to his chest in an attempt to hide it but Lance had already seen. Seen the angry red scratches that marred the inside of Keith’s arms, seen how some were so deep they had scabbed and he knew, he knew exactly what they were because they had adorned his own body one too many times before. Anxiety is a bitch and Lance had to know what was eating away at Keith’s mind and now his body.

“Baby, please tell me what’s going on” Lance asked softly; Keith refused to look from the spot on the sofa he’d been staring at guiltily.

“I’m fi-“

“Keith.” He flinched as Lance cut him off then scowled harshly down at his hands worrying his bottom lip. Suddenly he put in head in his hands and groan loudly fuelled with anger.

“Shit!” Keith screamed into his hands “Fucking shit!”

Lance sat there waiting for Keith to continue to talk, the sudden outburst of fury didn’t faze him at all; he knew how it felt to try and explain your thought when your body has been coursing with self-directed anger for too many days. Keith dragged his hands down his face then back up into his hair; pulling on the strands slightly before sighing and finally turning to face Lance.

“I’m just so mad! And frustrated! I’m exhausted and so fucking scared! I’m losing control of my life and it’s just going to end up with one less person being in it!” His voice cracked; sounding exasperated and broken but his eyes remained dry albeit wild as they flitted around Lance’s face. Lance tentatively reach out a hand and began to soothingly rub Keith’s back encouraging him to continue.

“I mean things have been going so well for us; I’ve got a bunch of my shit at your place for Christ’s sake! And I don’t want to slow down but what if…what if we keep going and I…give you _everything_ and you come to the inevitable conclusion that I’m not what you want…just like everyone else did.”

Lance’s heart aches as he listens to the confession but doesn’t get a chance to comfort Keith before he’s talking again.

“You deserve the world Lance and I want to give it to you, but you’ve got to come to the realisation that the world you deserve doesn’t have me in it. Hunk and Shay are having a kid now and I know just how excited you are for it and I’ve seen how good you are with children it’s obvious that’s what you want so I have to be a temp until you find the girl you want to be your-“

“Keith stop” Lance said softly placing his hands on either side of Keith’s face and turn it to face him; Keith’s mouth snapped shut and he stared. “Do I not get to choose who joins me in the world I deserve?”

“But I’m such a mess, why would you keep me? I’m so broken” Keith mumbled as Lance unconsciously squished his cheeks together.

“So am I” Lance retaliated with a shrug “But luckily there’s kintsugi”

“Huh?”

“To repair with gold-” Lance said matter of fact before pressing his forehead against Keith’s and smiling gently- “and understanding that it’s more beautiful for having been broken”

“You’re beautiful Keith. You’ve gone through shit, but you’ve picked yourself up, put yourself back together and you deserve all the love and happiness that you seem to think you don’t”

“But what about kids?” Keith whispered; his lips brushed lightly against Lance’s as their faces were so close together. He wanted to believe he really did but he was still scared, he felt Lance sigh softly.

“I don’t go out with guys to kill time until I find a woman to have a family with Keith; that’s not how being Bi works”

“I know but…”

“I’d want to have a family with whoever I fall in love with and I’ll fall in love with who I fall in love in” Lance placed a soft kiss against Keith’s cheek then moved his lips until they were brushing against his ear “And why would go looking for someone else when I’m pretty sure I found the one already”

“What?” Keith started, pulling his face away from Lance and staring in shock as Lance grinned shyly at him.

“I think I’m in love with you Keith” Lance whispered tucking a strand of Keith’s hair “and you don’t have to say it back, though I won’t lie, that would be nice, but I think it’s time you knew”

“You love me?” Keith asked incredulously and Lance chuckled slightly but nodded, “I love you too”

“Wait, what?” Now it was Lance’s turned to stare in shock. Keith burst out laughing and Lance quickly followed; they hugged tightly, giggling as they placed kisses across each other’s faces.

“So will you stop trying to push your way out of my world?” Lance asked before smirking “Cos you’re kinda it”

“That’s so cheesy” Keith chuckled “but I’ll try, I just get scared”

“I know, me too, but we can do this together” Lance squeezed Keith a little and they smiled at each other, relishing in the sense of peace that overcame them.

“Hey so do you think you’d be up for going to the new years party?” Lance asked after a few minutes of silence “I can’t imagine how shit the holidays have been for you and oh God that baby shower must have been the fucking worst!”

“Yeah” Keith agreed with a nod.

"God and here we were thinking that would help you; we probably just made it worse" Lance shook his head sadly before taking a breath a continuing, "anyway, Shiro and Allura will be there this time round so there's that"

"Also I think it'd be a good way for us to flip the bird to all the shit that happened this year and go into the next one together, all of us, as one big family"

Keith hesitated for a second before answering cautiously, "Yeah okay"

"No-one is going to leave or forget you Keith, not if we have a say in it" Lance hugged Keith a little tighter "We're all in this together"

"Oh God please don't start singing high school musical" Keith said laugh softly.

"Well I wasn't going to" Lance chuckled, smirking at Keith deviously "But if you insist"

"No God, please don't!" Keith clamped his hands over Lance's mouth as he took a deep breath in. "I promise I'll go just please don't sing"

Lance pulled Keith's hands away from his mouth laughing, "Deal."

* * *

 

It had been a cosy Sunday; hours spent cuddling, watching shows on Netflix and just generally enjoying each other's company. Early evening came around and Keith was lying across Lance's sofa, his favourite book in one hand and the other placed comfortably behind his head; he listened to Lance fretted around the apartment and he knew it would soon be late enough for Lance to insist on them to get ready for the New Year's party.

"Babe?" Lance called from the bedroom; _right on cue,_ Keith thought.

"Hmm?" Keith hummed in acknowledgement as he turned the page of his book.

"Keith?" Lance called out again and Keith could hear his footsteps making their way down the hall to the living room.

"Yes, Lance?" He said, a little louder than before, his eyes still trained on his book. After a couple seconds he felt Lance lean against the back on the sofa.

"Sweetheart, honey, baby" He heard Lance coo then suddenly his book was ripped from his grip. "Sweet cheeks, munchkin, cutie pie, sugar li-"

"Ok stop doing that" Keith squeezing Lance's cheeks together to stop him from speaking "You have my attention so please stop listing all the pet names you know"

"Oh muffin those aren't all the ones I know" Lance's grin was squished under his fingers but Keith could still see the devious intent behind it. Suddenly Lance launched himself over the sofa to straddle Keith's hips, narrowly missing kneeing him in the crotch (though Keith still hit him for it), and grinned down at him, his smirk uninhibited.

"Besides I also have another language to take my pick from, o olvidasteis de eso cariño?" Lance purred, Keith blushed and quickly covered his face with a groan.

"Oh God" Lance laughed heartily then poked Keith's side.

"Mi amor," another poke.

"Mi vida, mi alma, mi principe” With each name Lance poked and squished Keith’s sides until he was a laughing mess.

“Fuck Lance stop that tickles!” Keith laughed, squirming to try and get out of his grip, tears were rolling down his cheeks and his abs ached from laughing so much.

“Angelito, tesoro, papito” Keith’s laughed doubled as he listened to Lance’s pet names.

“Did you just-“ He burst into giggles again “Did you just call me daddy?!”

Lance suddenly stopped his torment and pulled a face as if to consider what Keith had said before he too burst into a fit of giggles.

“I guess it translates that way but that’s not what I meant I promise” Lance chuckled, waving his hands in front of him in defence.

“Yeah sure” Keith smirked poking Lance in the stomach.

“I promise!” Lance squeaked taking hold of Keith’s hands, “It’s just cutesie like my mum would call me and my brothers papito and my sisters mamita; I dunno how to explain it!”

“That’s kinda cute” Keith said thoughtfully “but maybe don’t call me that”

“yes, daddy” Lance said in a deep mock sexy voice.

“No Lance that’s worse!” Keith said clutching his sides as he laughed.

 Now that he wasn’t concentrating on torturing Keith he could feel how Keith’s laughing was bucking Lance up and down as his body shook and it induced him into another bout of hysterical laughter; it took them a while to calm down enough to resume talking.

“But seriously we should get ready for tonight” Lance said still chuckling a little.

“Yeah okay, get off” Keith bucked his hips suddenly, sending Lance falling onto the floor. Keith laughed and hopped over him, running to the bedroom while Lance grumbled Spanish curses as he picked himself up to follow.

Just like the first time Keith ever stayed over Lance’s wardrobe had been emptied out all over the room. Shirts on hangars hooked on all the handles in the room; top and jean combinations placed neatly over the bed spread, he was even impressed to see the few clothing items he kept in the flat were being used in the considerations.

“Really Lance?” Keith asked gesturing vaguely at the mess before them as Lance wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist and buried his head in his neck sheepishly.

“It’s important okay; it’s the last outfit of this year and the first of the next” Lance mumbled, Keith just chuckled softly.

“I’m not wearing dungarees again” Keith warned, placing his hands on top of Lance’s.

“Hahaha don’t worry you’ve left enough jeans here to have a choice, but we should find you a top that isn’t a black t-shirt” Keith snorted then detangled himself from Lance’s grip to look at the selection of tops Lance had put out for consideration.

“You realise it’s a roof party and our outfits will just be hidden under coats, right?” Keith asked as his fingers traced the buttons of a blue shirt he’s seen Lance wear multiple times.

“Er who said the coats won’t be part of the outfits?” Lance said opening his wardrobe revealing a stupid amount of coats and jacket.

“Jesus, why do you have so many?” Keith said staring at the items in awe, Lance shrugged with a grin then made his way over to the other side of the bed to a neatly placed piled.

“So I think I have my outfit picked out, if I try it on will you tell me if it looks good?” Lance asked, picking up the pile.

“Yeah sure” Keith said but he knew he’d be bias cos he thought Lance looked good in the lounge pants and large t-shirt he was wearing.

“Thanks, I’ll go change in the bathroom, so I can do my hair too” Lance bent down to pick up a pair of brown ankle boots before walking to the door, “Good luck hunting for an outfit!”

Keith rolled his eyes and proceeded to pull on a pair of black skinny jeans on and a long white tee, he walked over to the chest of drawers to find a pair of socks and he could hear Lance singing happily in the bathroom. Keith’s outfit ended up consisting of his combat boots, a long-oversized cream sweater and a black denim trucker jacket with a fluffy wool lining that showed around the collar; he had pulled his hair up into a pony tail and was applying his usual concealer when Lance walked back in and pulled out a coat.

Keith turned around and appraised Lance from head to toe; he was wearing light washed jeans, a white shirt, black tie and a thin brown sweater; the whole outfit was tied together with a pair of camel ankle boots and a winter trench coat. Keith’s eyes lingered on Lance a little longer than necessary causing Lance to bite his bottom lip and try very hard not to nervously run his hands through his perfectly styled hair; when Keith finally met Lance’s gaze he smirked.

“You look good babe” Keith said crossing his arms and his eyes swept up and down again.

“Thank you, daddy” Lance purred in deep voice.

“God fucking dammit Lance!” Keith shouted, throwing a pair of bundled socks across the room at Lance who was running out the room laughing his head off.

Once again Keith found himself walking down the path to Hunk and Shay's house, hand in hand with Lance, only this time he wasn't filled with dread. He felt the budding sense of nerves that all social interactions instilled in him but it was predominantly drowned out by his excitement to see all his friends again; he missed them and didn't realise just how much he had been shutting everyone out. He felt guilty, obviously, but when he voiced it Lance had all but hit him saying how he shouldn't dwell on it, that no-one took it personally and moving forward he just had to try not to push them all away again.

They were quickly ushered in as to not let the cold night air permeate through the house, their coats were taken by a bubbly, if not slightly tipsy, Hunk and they made their way through to the kitchen at the back of the house. Now that he wasn’t completely stuck in his own head Keith could actually appreciate their home; it was small but super cosy. The décor was chic but warm with the use of wood and carpets, there were photo frames of family and friends in every room; hanging on the walls or propped up on mantel pieces and shelves, there were also a fair share of potted plants placed tastefully across the house.

When they walked into kitchen the smell of delicious food filled their noses and alerted their stomachs; they looked around taking in their surroundings and seeing if they could spot any food available to snatch. Pidge was sitting on the kitchen island talking animatedly to Shiro who was struggling to get a word in but was quite happy to sip in his wine and nod along, smiling at whatever Pidge was talking about. Allura was sitting at the small dining table chatting with Coran, which was still odd for Keith because despite being Allura’s uncle it still weirded him out to see Coran out of a professional context. Shay waddled into the kitchen from the living room and made a bee-line straight towards them, with arms opened wide and a bright smile across her face. She took Keith into a tight hug (well as tight as you can with a baby filled belly in-between) and he felt an instant stab of guilt that he had repressed.

There was one secret that Keith hadn’t revealed to Lance when they talked because it was the one he felt the most guilty about and honestly just didn’t know how to explain. He was scared, flat out scared of the fact that Hunk and Shay were having a baby, and not in the way he was when he thought he was a temp until Lance wanted to start a family either; he was simply terrified of the idea of being around them when the baby finally came. He had spent years adamantly avoiding families in every situation he possibly could, it just hurt his heart so much and now his perfect little friendship group is going to involve probably the most loving family in the whole world and he just doesn’t know if he can hack it. He’s kept it quiet for so long because he wants it to simply be fear of the unknown, but it still caused him immense guilt whenever he thought about it. Shay had captured Lance’s attention, so Keith used the opportunity to slip away, kissing Lance on the cheek and giving Shay a parting smile he made his way over to where Pidge, Shiro and now Hunk were talking in the kitchen.

As the night progressed Lance could see the significant improvement in Keith’s demeanour compared to the Christmas events and he shook his head fondly as he watched Keith laugh loudly over something Coran said.

“That boy’s an idiot for trying carry the world on his shoulders” Lance muttered to himself taking another sip of his mulled wine.

They had all made their way up onto the roof as they neared midnight, wrapped up in their coats and scarves and nursing hot drinks of all sorts to keep their hands warm and were now all milling around and talking as they waited for the ball to drop. The roof had been done up beautifully; Lance had to make sure he remembered to commend Hunk for it, there was a pergola covered in fairy lights, adorable vintage garden furniture (though extra chairs had been brought up for the evening) The floor had been newly paved and big potted bushes and flower beds had been brought up to give it a perfect secluded secret garden feel.

Lance was leaning up against the far wall watching everyone enjoy themselves when Hunk walked up to him and took his place by Lance’s side.

“I’m gonna take a stab and guess he finally opened up about what was eating him huh?” Hunk asked not taking his eyes off where Keith was talking with Allura. Lance smiled and nodded taking another sip of his drink; Hunk grinned and patted him on the back. “Was it what we thought?”

“kinda” Lance said with a half shrug “It was mainly self-worth centred, but we talked through it and it definitely isn’t fixed but at least now I know what he’s fighting against and I can help him win the battle”

“Plus and I told him I love him and he said it back” He whispered happily, a big grinned stretched across his face.

“Aw dude that’s amazing!” Hunk cheered turning to Lance and hugging him tightly, when he put him down again Lance leant against Hunk’s shoulder and sighed happily.

“I love him” He whispered mostly to himself but he felt Hunk’s shoulder shake as he softly chuckled.

Lance pushed himself off Hunk and started making his way towards Keith who was now staring out across the skyline with his forearms leaning up against the top of the low wall. Lance came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist and rested his head on his shoulder. They didn’t say anything but they didn’t need to, both of them enjoying each other’s company and watching the few eager beavers light up their fireworks ahead of time.

“Excuse me everyone can I have your attention?” Keith and Lance turned around at the sound of Shiro’ voice and saw that he and Allura were standing under the pergola; they looked at each other and shrugged before joining the others who had gathered in front.

“I would like to make a speech if you don’t mind” Shiro said, oddly sheepish, no one protested so he kept going.

“This year has been filled with wonderful moments that we mustn’t forget or let the bad moments over shadow” Shiro began raising his glass slightly.

 “So to Keith and Lance who found each other, you make each other happy and are also sickeningly cutesy” Lance squeezed Keith’s hand affectionately while Keith tried hard not to blush.

“To Hunk and Shay, you’re baby will be the most loved baby in the world and possibly the cutest too” The couple shared a loving gaze as they placed their hands over the bump.

“To Pidge, who’s kicking ass at their doctorate and will quite easily change the world one day” Pidge beamed under the praise and everyone murmured their agreements to Shiro’s words.

“To Coran, who has been the best mentor and support to all who cross paths with him; may your moustache be forever luscious” Everyone chuckled as Coran twirled his moustache and wiggled his eyebrows.

“And to Allura” Shiro said softly turning to face her “You have been an absolute rock for me when I’ve needed it, you’re so loving and caring and I love you with everything I am”

Shiro dropped down on one knee and everyone gasped; Lance let go of Keith’s hand and covered his mouth in shock, mirroring Allura’s expression.

“I wanted to do this as the countdown began because I want this year to end and the next one to begin on the most wonderful moment yet.” Shiro pulled out a little black box and flipped it open, “Allura, will you marry me?”

“Yes” Allura whispered, tears streaming down her face. Shiro beamed blinking back his own tears as he placed the ring on her finger; he stood up and kissed her sweetly while everyone cheered and clapped, congratulating the couple.

Lance watched as they were pulled into fierce hugs and smiled to himself. They were going to live a wonderful life together and they utterly deserved it; Lance bounced excitedly as he thought about how they were going to get a house together and perhaps have a family of their own one day. Maybe they would leave for a while and travel the world sending back postcards and trinkets to everyone and Keith-

 _Oh, no, Keith!_ Lance spun around quickly and caught sight of Keith hunched in on himself as he made his way to the roof exit. _Oh, no…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello you beautiful creatures! I come to you with a request!  
> I've been dying to commission Cellyfish (if you don't know them check out their work [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CsodyQ6Jjw)) to do an animation for this fic, they're super interested in it but the only issue is I have no funds :(
> 
> So I started a [Ko-fi page](https://ko-fi.com/X8X67KPN)! If you want to see this amazing animation come to life please donate!  
> Love you all you gorgeous stars <3
> 
> Come say hi on tumblr!
> 
> [My Blog](http://teawiththehatter-posts.tumblr.com/)


	22. Calm before the storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello…  
> *deep breath* I know it’s been four months, I’m so sorry, I really am. I didn’t give up this I just some god awful mental health months and they hit hard. In fact this chapter has been a wip the entire time and it was so difficult, I genuinely struggled and was worried that if I pushed too hard I would just produce some shitty writing that would just suck in quality and I didn’t want to do that to the story OR to you guys cos it means too much to me!
> 
> Well anyway I finally felt I wrote something worth posting so here it is! I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> P.s I don’t have a beta so it’s probably riddled with mistakes but I’m not in the right state to fully edit I just hope nothing is taken away from the story with the mistakes.

  
Keith was sitting on the steps of the front porch when Shiro found him; he had his head buried in his hands and his leg was bouncing restlessly, Shiro could hear that he was muttering to himself but couldn’t pick up what he was saying. Cautiously he approached Keith and took a seat next to him being careful not to touch or invade his space.

“He’s not leaving you, he’s not leaving…shut up! He’s not abandoning you!” Shiro’s heart broke as Keith’s words made their way to him and he watched helplessly as Keith tugged at his own hair mercilessly.  


He suddenly felt immensely guilty that he had kept his plans for that night a secret; he never would have done so if he thought for a second, Keith’s demons would have used it to attack him…but he knew Keith was treading on ice; he had seen how recluse Keith had become, seen how he lost weight, noticed how he threw himself harder into his work and exercise regime to keep busy yet he hadn't paid attention.  


"Keith" Shiro spoke softly not wanting to scare him; Keith still flinched at the sound then snapped his head up when he realised he wasn't alone.  


“I’m sorry” Keith blurted out the second his eyes connected with his brother's; Shiro blinked back in surprise his own apology snatched from his mouth.  


"Why are you sorry?" Shiro asked incredulously.  


“Because I’m happy for you! I really am!” Keith said loudly, not quite answering the question but Shiro didn’t want to interrupt.

  
“I really like Allura” Keith’s voice dropped down to a whisper again “Honestly, you should have proposed to her years ago”

  
Shiro smiled softly but it quickly fell when he saw that Keith had screwed his eyes shut; finger nails cutting into his palm as he pushed curled fists into his knees.  


“But…?” Shiro supplied helpfully.  


“But I can’t stop panicking!” Keith pushed himself up off the steps, facing away from the house, his arms were crossed; nails dragging down his biceps. “It’s so stupid!”  


“What- “  


“You guys deserve to be happy, you should be getting married” Keith continued, interrupting Shiro who sat back and watched as Keith dragged his hands harshly up and down his arms. “I don’t expect you to have to plan your life around me, God that would be fucking awful!”  


“but I just…it’s just…” his hands clenched painfully tight “I…I…”  


Shiro jumped up, stretching his hand out towards him in urgency as Keith trembled and crumpled under his own imposed weight.  


“Keith what’s wrong?”  


“I don’t know!” Keith all but screamed as he turned around, raising his arms in exasperation as his eyes stared crazily and tearful. “I don’t fucking know!”  


“I’m just so overwhelmed! I know I’m happy for you, but I can’t process it and its just…Uuaarrgghhh!” He gripped his hair tightly, he scrunched his eyes shut and started muttering to himself again.  


“five things you can see, five things you can see” Shiro hovered tentatively around Keith afraid to touch him but he had no idea what Keith was saying.  


“Keith” Shiro whispered softly trying to keep his voice calm and reassuring.  


“Get Lance!” Keith gasped, he scrunched his eyes even tighter, “Please, get Lance”  


Shiro dropped his arms and turned quickly back towards the house; he softly opened the door and scanned the room until his eyes locked onto Lance’s. He watched as Lance smiled and quickly excused himself from his conversation with Hunk and Coran before walking in the direction of the front door with a grim look. Keith looked up when he heard a murmur of voices and was running to Lance as soon as he made it to the bottom step.  


“Lance! Lance please…I can’t…I can’t see” He gripped Lance’s arm tightly, “I can’t see five things!”  


“Shhh, Shhh, it’s okay, hey listen” Lance wrapped his arms around Keith, rubbing his hair in a soothing manner, “breathe with me Keith, in and out”  


“I’m gonna do the countdown first okay” Lance murmured as he felt Keith’s shivering lessen “Then you can try”  


Shiro stood back, hands held uselessly at his side and with a heavy heart he observed as Lance continued to murmur things in Keith’s ear, he saw how Keith started to relax the more Lance spoke and he even chuckled and what was being said and Shiro began to wonder when he had started to become so out of touch with Keith.  


They had been through so much together; experienced heart break after heart break and had been there for each other from the very beginning. Even when Keith went through his rebellious stage and Shiro had his accident and things became almost unbearably difficult they were still able to pull through. After all that things had gotten better, impressively so; Keith flourished and got the researchers job and Shiro loved to travel around and teach children and he eventually started dating Allura.  


Keith’s anxiety had simmered down to manageable social anxiety and he had been off his medication for depression for the past year; Shiro’s PTSD had become more of an afterthought and was no longer life consuming. Things were good and maybe Shiro had gotten complacent because of that. He had been ignorant in his bliss and blind to caution as he relished in his peace; he simply wasn’t prepared for the storm.  


He looked over, once again, at Lance as he calmed Keith down quicker than he ever could and his heart burnt with anger and guilt. He wasn’t jealous of Lance; God knows he was happy that Keith had someone like Lance to rely on, but he was angry; angry that he could no longer be someone Keith could count on.  


The days that followed Shiro was convinced Keith was avoiding him; well not physically, Keith hung out in the evenings watching shows while Shiro read and even helped with dinners but anytime Shiro tried to apologise or bring up that evening Keith would shut down. The conversations would instantly be changed, with Keith continuing to talk loudly over Shiro as if he couldn’t hear them, though sometimes he seemed to know when Shiro was about to try once more and would simply walk away mid conversation leaving Shiro to sigh frustrated he couldn’t address the issues he desperately wanted to.  


“I don’t know what to do ‘llura” Shiro sighed, rubbing his hands around his mug as he stared defeatedly into his tea.  


“What exactly do you want from him Shiro?” Her voice wasn’t accusatory, but it was firm “because I can fully understand why he wouldn’t want to talk about it”  


“Honestly? I just want to apologise.” He looked up and saw Allura’s gaze soften, she placed her own mug down on the coffee table and reached out to take hold on one of his hands.

 

“What are you apologising for?”  


“For not talking to him about my plans of proposal?” He said softly but it sounded more like a question, Allura waited for him to continue and he sighed deeply.  


“I guess that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I want to say sorry for not keeping up with what’s going on in his life, sorry for not knowing how he’s been handling these changes, sorry for not being able to be a support anymore when he suffers from attacks.”  


Shiro gripped his mug tighter and frowned deeply; his eyes glistening. “sorry…for ignoring him”  


“You know he doesn’t think that, nor does he blame you” Allura said softly.  


“I know” Shiro sighed “but I still feel like it’s something I need to say”  


Allura sat back in her chair and took a sip of her tea as she contemplated the situation.  


“Why don’t we invite Keith and Lance out on a double date, a restaurant will make it feel less like a confrontation and he’ll probably be more relaxed with Lance there” She suggested.  


“Thanks, Allura” Shiro said, he looked back up at her with a soft, yet relieved smile and she smiled encouragingly back.  


“This feels like an ambush” Keith muttered, having flashbacks of when he first introduced Lance.  


“What do you mean?” Lance asked, slowing down and looking around cautiously.  


“Shiro’s been trying to corner me all week, since, well the proposal- “  


“And you’ve been avoiding him since the proposal” Lance interrupted with sudden understanding.  


“Yeah” sigh Keith, “Well not completely, only when he tried to turn the subject onto the actual...erm incident…”  


“So, you think he’ll try again tonight” Lance said nodding as he thought things through.  


“This has Allura written all over it” Keith murmured as he pushed open the door to the restaurant.  


Lance wouldn’t necessarily have described their dinner as awkward, more like...okay yeah it was awkward. Keith sat in their booth brooding silently as if he hoped the less he said the less he’d get spoken to. Shiro was calm and collected; trying his utmost to be the picture of nonchalant which quite frankly Lance found more unsettling than if he just came out with whatever his intentions for this dinner were. Thus, Lance and Allura were left to carry most of the conversation in the hope to bring some semblance of normality into their evening.

 

Keith was being a brat, he knew he was, but he really didn’t want to be anything else. The entire situation was stupid, and he didn’t want to be there so why bother pretending otherwise right? He did feel guilty about Lance though, he had been dragged into this circumstance by association after all, but then again it was Shiro’s and Allura’s fault, so they should really be the ones feeling guilty, not him.

 

An awkward silence had settled itself over the table as they finished their meal; Lance and Allura seemed to have run out of steam and didn’t know how to keep the conversation going when the tension in the air was thick enough to slice. Keith sighed as he watched Shiro and Allura share a look; it appeared that their real objective for the evening was finally about to be initiated. He tried his hardest not to roll his eyes as Allura excused herself to go to the restroom, leaving the three boys alone at the table.

 

Not a minute had passed after Allura had walked away from them when Lance’s phone let out a loud shrill ring, making them all jump. For a split-second Keith thought Lance was in on it all but the look of genuine shock on both Lance’s and Shiro’s face let him breathe a sigh of relief before his stomach dropped at the realisation that he wouldn’t be there to support him.

 

“It’s Hunk.” Lance muttered as he looked worriedly at his phone, “He never calls unless it’s an emergency.”

 

Lance turned to look at him with searching eyes; Keith nodded and tried to smile in what he hoped was an encouraging way, Lance breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed Keith’s thigh reassuringly before standing up. HE watched as Lance answered the phone, concern evident in his tone and walked away from the table, towards the bar on the other side of the restaurant.

 

Keith smiled softly as he saw the relief wash over Lance’s face; the furrow in his brow smoothed out and his shoulders relaxed, he turned to face Keith and beamed brightly, Keith felt his face warm up under Lance’s gaze, but he couldn’t seem to look away. He watched as Lance let out a hearty laugh before hanging up and because he was so focussed on Lance he didn’t see Allura until she pulled Lance by his arm and whispered in his ear. Lance looked at her confused, his eyes flickering over to Keith with concern, before taking a seat next to Allura by the bar.

 

Keith sighed, slumping back in his seat; _so, this is how it’s gonna be huh._ He reluctantly tore his eyes away from his lap and faced his brother.

 

“Go on then, let’s get this over with” Keith grumbled, gesturing for Shiro to proceed.

Of all the moments the evening had presented him with, only this particular one had made Lance feel truly uncomfortable. He sat precariously on his bar stool, doing his upmost to avoid looking at Allura while he awkwardly sipped on the drink she had bought him. Instead he watched the two brothers hash out whatever it was Shiro felt they needed to address; he could only partially see Keith’s face, but he didn’t seem too tense and Shiro looked as calm and collective as ever, plus no-one was throwing plates so it was already going 100% better than any family confrontation he’s ever watched.

 

“He really loves you, you know” Lance jumped at the sound of Allura’s voice, his eyes flitted over to her and he saw that she was staring at the boys just as intently as he had been.

 

When Lance didn’t answer straight away she turned her attention to him; her eyebrows furrowed, “You do know that, right?”

 

“Yeah” Lance smiled, “I know”

 

“Good” She said with a nod, they both went back to watching their boys silently.

 

“Allura…?” Lance asked softly; swirling the drink in his hand around, his eyes focussed on the sloshing liquid. “Why was Shiro so insistent on talking to Keith?”

 

Allura sighed softly as she placed her now empty glass on the bar and swivelled in her stool to face him; Lance hesitated for a second before mimicking her actions.

 

“This is the happiest we’ve seen Keith in a while” She started, her eyes sliding, once more over to the table to take in the brothers talking. He tone contrasted the positivity of her words and it left Lance with more questions but he held his tongue and waited for Allura to continue.

 

“Actually this has been the happiest and most peaceful I’ve seen Shiro be in a while too” her brief smile turned sad ”maybe that’s why we didn’t notice”

 

“Notice what?” Lance asked after her pensive silence had continued for a while; she looked up at him and blinked out of her stupor before smiling again. “You make him so happy Lance” She placed a hand on his arm and squeezed lightly, smile still beaming.

 

“Allura, I love you, I do and everything you’re saying is super nice but, like super cryptic.” Lance said, running his hand through his hair. “And I’ve got to be honest, it’s freaking me out.”

 

“Sorry, Lance” Allura chuckled “I’ll try and explain”

 

“When Keith loves he’ll love with everything he has, he doesn’t love easily mind, but when he does he’ll do anything he can to keep you safe and keep you happy” Allura smiled softly then shook her head slowly, “But…sometimes that leads to incredibly poor decisions.”

 

“What do you mean?” Lance asked, tilting his head in confusion.

 

“Well, if he thinks he’ll hurt you or he feels guilty about something or, heaven forbid, he thinks you deserve better; he would much rather push you away first” Allura fiddled with the engagement ring on her finger and looked down as the diamond swirled around. “It’s a defence mechanism partly, he’d rather believe his thoughts and walk away while he feels like he physically can than be proven right later down the line and get the rug pulled out from under his feet.”

Lance nodded solemnly; even without knowing Keith’s background, that way of thinking seemed almost logical to him and he fully understood why someone would think that way.

 

“However, it’s mainly because he genuinely thinks he’s doing the best thing for you” Allura continued before Lance could question her, “You know how Shiro lost his arm right?”

 

She looked up at him then and Lance nodded slowly, “Yeah, Keith told me about it a while ago”

 

“He felt so guilty about it.” Allura glanced over to the table with fond expression “He took it incredibly hard when Shiro was going through rehab; he withdrew from us, his anxiety and depression peaked and then one day…he just left.”

 

“He left?!” Lance turned to look at the table in shock. “But, Shiro means everything to Keith!”

 

“He does and that’s why he ran away” Allura smiled sadly at the look of confusion on Lance’s face “He had convinced himself that Shiro’s accident was entirely his fault and that Shiro must have hated him for it. He genuinely thought he’d be better off without him; that if he left he wouldn’t hurt Shiro anymore.”

 

“He was wrong, of course, Shiro was absolutely distraught to learn his brother had run away and he was so angry that Keith would even entertain the idea that he wouldn’t want him around anymore”

 

“Where did you find him?” Lance asked.

 

“Texas”

 

“What?!” Lance exclaimed, nearly knocking his glass over on the bar.

 

“He flew all the way to Texas, found him living in the abandoned shack he grew up in. It was the most heart-breaking moment to witness and when we brought him back we made sure to put everything in place to support him, well to support both of them” She watched as Shiro got up from his side of the booth and made his way over to sit next to Keith.

 

“Since then we made sure to keep an eye out for any repeats of the same behaviour leading up to his departure and have nipped quite a few incidents in the butt because of it.” She looked back at him and Lance was shocked to see tears swimming in her eyes.

 

“Oh Lance” She sobbed softly, “I’m so sorry, we didn’t pay attention to the signs soon enough! His reaction to the proposal was a wake-up call and now everything seems so obvious!”

 

 “He’s secluded himself more, he’s been avoiding certain things, he’s had more panic attacks and-“

 

“I’ve noticed” Lance said with a sad sigh, interrupting her train of thought. Allura took Lance’s hand in her and they both turned to look at the brothers who were now embracing.

 

“That’s why Shiro wanted to talk to him.” She said softly as they watched, “Something big is on his mind and I don’t know what it’s about or who it’ll affect, I just hope we didn’t notice too late.”

 

Shiro and Keith parted from each other and waved the duo over to join them. Allura quickly wiped her tears and smiled before standing up; she didn’t let go of Lances hand as they made their way over. The restaurant was busy, but Lance still distinctly heard the words Allura muttered to herself.

 

“I feel a storm coming.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello you beautiful creatures! I come to you with a request!  
> I've been dying to commission Cellyfish (if you don't know them check out their work [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CsodyQ6Jjw)) to do an animation for this fic, they're super interested in it but the only issue is I have no funds :(
> 
> So I started a [Ko-fi page](https://ko-fi.com/X8X67KPN)! If you want to see this amazing animation come to life please donate!  
> Love you all you gorgeous stars <3


	23. Secrets held to destruction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well it’s finally here! The penultimate chapter!
> 
> it’s been quite busy the past few months! I got married! I fucking FINALLY finished my uni work and get to graduate it in two weeks!
> 
>  
> 
> things have been rough as well I got put through emergency referral for a therapist because of trigger warning reasons (I absolutely love my therapist and wish I could keep her with me always) and the uni work drained the shit out of me, my hair was falling out my weight was fluctuating my skin was sickly! But I finished I’m on holiday an de finally finished this chapter so enjoy!
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you so much for all of your support it’s real helped me get through this all! And please if you can look me up on ko-fi and consider donating get to an animation project I want to get done for this story!

The bell of the flower shop tinkled softly as the door pushed open; Pidge barely lifted her eyes up from her text book to acknowledge who entered.

“Sup loser” She greeted, turning the page of her book; eyes following along with the words.

“Hey Pidge” Keith said as he walked up to her station and leant against the table, “Is Lance here?”

“Wow rude” She scoffed, finally closing her book and leaning back on her chair, arms crossed, “here I thought you actually wanted to spend time with me”

Keith laughed, running a hand through his hair “Sorry Pidgey”

Pidge rolled her eyes, picking her book up once more and returning to her page “He’s not here; Hunk called not that long ago, Shays water broke and Lance went over to help them”

“Oh”

Pidge’s eyebrow rose slowly as she looked at Keith quizzically. Keith tried his best to keep his expression cool while silently cursing his voice for betraying him.

“Are you okay?” She asked slowly as if to make sure she didn’t scare him.

“I’m fine” he lied, keeping his tone light and casual; Pidge’s eyes narrowed.

“Bull shirt; I don’t believe you for a second” she said her voice accusatory, slamming her book close and pushing her glasses up her nose. She watched as panic flashed across his face before his features scrunched up in confusion.

“Bull shirt?” Keith asked, voice amused and a tentative smirk across his lips. Pidge gauged him for a second before sighing and dropping the subject for now.

“It’s Hunks fault” she said, humouring him “He went crazy with the whole ‘no swearing’ rule; he even imposed a swear jar for each of us” she gestured to the small glass jar at the end of her desk, it had a green ribbon tied around it and it was almost full of notes.

“Pidge what the fuck it’s nearly full!” Keith exclaimed, he picked up the jar and tried to calculate the amount inside, “How long have they been implemented for?”

“That’s a fiver Kogane” Pidge sneered holding her palm out for the cash.

“Hell no” Keith laughed, placing the jar in her hand instead, “I didn’t sign up to sound like a bloody children’s show host!”

“Speaking of,” Pidge started, placing the jar back in its place “were you the one that taught Lance the work Quiznack?”

“Oh God, why?” He chuckled nervously.

“Cause he’s been using it tenfold ever since Hunk started the stupid jar system. So much so that Hunk is considering putting it in the banned words list”

“Of course he’d exhaust that word” Keith shook his head, a fond smile on his face.

“What does it mean anyway?” Pidge asked.

“Don’t know,” he said with a shrug, “linguistics are still working on it”

Pidge nodded in understanding but made no attempt to continue the subject. Keith suddenly felt the spike of nerves course through his body as he watched her eyes stare at him critically.

“Keith…”

Just as she began to speak the bell rang and a little old man walked in effectively ending their conversation. Keith stepped back from the desk and gave Pidge a small wave, mouthing his goodbye and turning quickly to avoid her narrowed gaze. He nodded at the gentleman, who was now admiring one of the displays and quickly slipped out the door.

Keith sighed a breath of relief and a slight breeze gently caressed his face; that was close, he thought as he made his way towards his house, not sparing a glance back at the shop.

 

Blues flowers felt like it had never been busier; fortunately Pidges classes hadn’t started up yet so she was able to cover Hunks shifts and even went above and beyond to help Lance run the shop.

Despite the running around, late nights and the occasional annoying customer, Hunks absence filled Lance with joy. It served as a reminder that his best friend just had a baby! He was officially an uncle or whatever! Soon he’d have the cutest floral assistant in the whole world!

He didn’t realise he had squealed out loud until Pidge shot him a look.

“I did it again didn’t I?” Lance asked sheepishly, thankful in that moment that the shop had been empty.

Pidge nodded, “your broodiness is spilling over again”

“Whatever, I don’t want a baby” Pidge shot him a dubious look, “I don’t! I’m just excited for the baby!”

“Uh huh, if you say so” Pidge went back to stocking up the roses when she suddenly bit her lip as a thought occurred to her.

“Hey Lance…?”

“What’s up?” He asked, completely unaware of the unease she was under.

“Is,erm,” she took a deep breath before asking “is everything-is Keith okay?”

Lance stopped what he was doing and met Pidges worried expression with one of his own.

“I believe so...why?”

“He came in the other day looking for you” Pidge said, going back to stocking flowers to distract herself, “it was the day Shays water broke, I told him you were helping Hunk and he seemed...off”

“Upset?” Lance questioned.

“Yeah but not like upset you weren’t here” she turned back to face Lance and dropped her voice to a soft whisper, “more like he was upset at the baby”

Lance sighed heavily, taking a moment to take in the information. “Honestly, I don’t know. He has these moments where something triggers him like the baby shower shopping or Shiros engagement and he freaks out”

“Does he ever talk about them?” Pidge probed when Lance didn’t continue straight away.

“No, he doesn’t acknowledge them in any way! You know that Shiro had to freakin’ ambush him to get him to talk and he only opened up about the shopping when he thought I was breaking up with him”

“What about what Allura said, do you think that could be baby related” Pidge whispered cautiously.

“I think it could be” Lance answers just as softly. He runs his hands down his face and groans “it’s frustrating you know! Apart from those moments everything has been great!”

Pidge placed a hand soothingly on Lances arm, he took a deep calming breath at the notion.

“After our talk before the baby shower he opened up about so much, was completely honest about things but just...not about this...God I love him so much!” Lance’s voice breaks at his confession “it hurts, so much, that the biggest thing eating him up is the one thing I can’t help him with”

Pidge silently made her way over Lance and squeezed his middle, he chuckled slightly and wrapped his arms around her small frame. 

“I know I can’t force him to talk but everything Allura said keeps running through my mind”

“Are we having a cuddle party?”

Pidge and Lance started at the sound of the intruding voice, turning their heads in unison to stare at the new comer.

“Hunk!” 

Lance detangled himself from Pidges arms, mouthing a quick sorry as she stumbled from the force, and launched himself at Hunk. Without so much as a flinch Hunk caught Lance in his arms with a throaty chuckle as Lance pointed a leg out and wrapped his arms around Hunks neck.

“What are you doing here? You’re not due to work for a few more weeks!” Lance said reluctantly sliding back down until his feet hit the ground.

“What? I can’t pop in to see my favourite people?” Hunk asked moving to Pidge and giving her a tight hug.

“Well obviously” Lance said placing his hand on Hunks shoulder, “I’m just surprised to see you so soon”

“Well actually as it happens,” Hunk turned to face them both with his arms crossed, eyes bright and a huge smile across his face “I did come here to bring some news”

Lance squealed and gripped Pidges arm as they both stared up at Hunk in excitement.

“Shay is back at home and we’re all settled in so she said you guys can come visit from next week” 

This time both of them squealed and Lance shook Pidges arm aggressively, shaking her whole body in the process. Hunk laughed and shushed them trying to calm the down.

“That’s not even the best part!” Hunk said looking amused as he took in their expressions of disbelief.

“What could possibly be better than that?” Pidge asked sharing a confused look with Lance.

“Well...would you do me the honour of being Nohea’s godparents?” Hunk grinned, instead of answering Pidge and Lance both launched themselves at Hunk; tears in their eyes and nodding profusely.

 

It had been a surprisingly nice and bright day, for mid January, when Lance woke up on Sunday so much so that he immediately texted Keith to suggest a lunch date followed by a walk in the park.

They walked hand in hand down the entrance path of the park, having just enjoyed a lunch of soup and sandwiches, smiling at all the other visitors they passed who had the same idea as them.

Walking through the park and past the fountain felt so reminiscent of their first date. A moment that was utterly terrifying for Keith yet a first moment in a long time that felt right. Keith smiled softly at himself as they walked, swearing he could almost smell the restaurant they ate at.

He looked fondly at Lance as he lead them through the park, a couple steps ahead and consistently chatting to Keith about every little thing he might want to know about. Keith’s smile grew for a second before turning sad, as it usually did, when he thought about how wonderful Lance is and just how much he deserves.

He deserves so much more than I can give. I’m too complicated, too broken, he gives me more than I ever feel I can reciprocate…

Shut up! He chose you, he keeps choosing you, he’s never taken the opportunities to run like you think he will. You love him too and that’s enough for now.

But...what if he asks me for the one thing I don’t think I can give? What if he asks and doesn’t understand that I can’t...I can’t-

“Hey, so Hunk said we can finally go visit Shay and the baby this week!” Lance said, his steps bouncing a little more with excitement, pulling Keith out of his thoughts. “You free on Tuesday?”

 

Keith’s stomach dropped but he fought to keep his voice steady. “Erm no, I won’t be free." He lied "You can just go without me.”

 

“That’s cool; we can go together next week when you're free" Lance said, unfazed.

 

Keith stopped in his tracks; his heart beating fast and his mind running a mile a minute. Lance turned around in confusion when he felt the hand be pulled from his grip. Keith felt like a deer in headlights as he watched Lance walk back up to him; concern the only emotion in his eyes.

 

"Keith, are you alright?" Lance's voice was soft as he slowly reached out a hand to gently cup Keith's face. It was now or never. Keith took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

 

"I meant…I won't be free…ever"

He was met with silence, keith risked a look up at Lance’s face; he looked hurt and confused but not angry. Yet. Keith thought bitterly.

“I...don’t understand” Lance said slowly as if he was thinking each word through.

“I don’t think I can be around them, not now they have a baby” Keith clarified quietly, dropping his gaze again and wringing his hands together.

“What?” The drop in Lances tone caused Keith to flinch.

“I can’t hang out with Hunk or Shay anymore” His voice was timid but his resolve was clear.

“Keith, please” Lance took hold of Keith’s hands “I love you so much, please don’t make me choose” he begged.

“You don’t have to choose” Keith squeezed their hands together as he looked into Lances tearful eyes, “You can still spend time with them, of course you can, it’s just me”

“Okay...okay” Lance’s voice was desperate as he clinged onto Keith’s hands “you can’t be with Nohea, I get it, I do, but you can still hang with them sans baby right?”

Keith averted his gaze once again and shook his head. 

“Keith…” 

Keith never thought that Lance letting go of his hands would hurt him as much as it did. He wanted to burst into tears, he wanted to take it all back and say he’d be okay with it all, he wanted to scream, he wanted to throw up, but when he opened his mouth none of those thing occurred.

“I can’t Lance” he willed for Lance to understand, “they’ll still be parents it changes people, it’s too much”

“I can’t believe this” Lance mumbled wryly as he turned away.

“Lance I’m sorry” Keith reached out to grab Lance’s arm but retracted his hand quickly when Lance flinched under his touch.

“You said…” Lance whipped around suddenly, his eyes were brimming with tears and his voice was angry, “You said I didn’t have to choose!”

“Lance...I-“ Keith went to take a step forward but stopped when Lance lifted a palm up in front of him.

“You said I didn’t…” his voice hitched but then he laughed bitterly, startling Keith, “So what now every Birthday, every celebration, every time I want to go to the fucking cinema! I have to pick between you and my friends...my family?”

“What do you want me to do?!” Keith snapped back; he cringed at the hardness in his tone cursing his nerves for taking over and causing him to lash out. “I can’t be with them”

“Can’t or won’t?” Lance asked; voice low and cold.

“What?” Keith took a step back in shock.

“Can’t.” Lance reiterated through gritted teeth, “or won’t.”

“Can’t!” 

“Really?” Lance scoffed, “because it seems like you’ve labelled it a lost cause before you’ve even tried it.”

Keith bristled; mouth souring as he was forced to swallow that bitter pill. He felt anger in his chest and bile in his throat as defensive anger flooded his mind.

“Fine, won’t” he spat, “you happy now?”

“Fucking ecstatic” Lance matching Keith’s tone.

“What the fuck do you want me to do Lance?!” Keith demanded; vaguely aware that they were still at the park and people were shuffling past and eying them warily as their voices grew louder.

“I want you to tell me the truth Keith!” Keith went to open his mouth but Lance cut him off, “I know this has been the thing that’s been eating you up! I knew something about the baby was bothering you!”

“You’ve been keeping this from me, everytime I try and bring it up you avoid it!” Lance voice broke as tears streamed down his face “and now the first time you open up about it is to give me a fucking alter matem!”

Keith’s mouth remained shut tight; everything he wanted to say, everything he wanted to explain was running through his mind, but he couldn’t find the words. He never wanted this he never wanted to hurt Lance but Lance deserves better so maybe this was for the best.

“Is your solution just to run away?” Tears still tracked Lances cheeks but his voice was a little colder since Keith’s refusal to answer, “would you leave Shiro and Allura if they decided to have a baby?”

Keith looked down, avoiding his gaze, Lance stepped back and gasped.

“You would” he whispered is a horrid realisation, Keith looked at him then, eyes pleading, but it just made the anger in Lance burn again.

“Do we mean nothing to you?!” Lance cried in outrage.

“No Lance, of course you do!” Keith said, shocked Lance would believe such a thing. 

“I lost my family, it hurts to be around those who have their own” Keith took a step forward, pleading for Lance to understand with his eyes. It felt like a slap when Lance flicked backwards shaking his head.

“So you’d rather push us away” Lance whispered with a resigned sigh.

“I love you Lance” Lance flinched at the words “but maybe this is for the best”

Keith crossed his arms over his chest, hugging himself, his eyes also swimming in tears threatening to spill. He looked at Lance deep in the eyes, seeing the anger, confusion and sadness playing through them, before sighing and turning on his heels.

“Fine.” Lance said watching as Keith didn’t even acknowledge his voice, “but you didn’t lose me! I wasn’t the one who walked away”

Lance watched Keith make his way through the park and away from him, as he stood rooted to the spot. His tears still travelled down his face but he made no move to wipe them and his chest hurt from keeping in the sobs. As soon as Keith was out of sight his hands flew to his face and the dam broke.

“Fuck! Why did I let him walk away?”


End file.
